Hey, if youâve never interacted with an actual wild animal before and you are visiting a National Park and seeing one for the first time hereâs a helpful little guidebook for you:Â
- Yes that is an actual wild animal.Â
- No it doesnât behave like your dog, and because you are inexperienced in the wilderness you donât have any idea how to read its body language. Yes this includes you, even if you feel like youâve got some sort of âspecial connection to animalsâ.Â
- No it doesnât like you, it doesnât want to be pet by you, it doesnât want you to approach it, it doesnât even want to be close enough to you that itâs aware of your presence.
- Yes it absolutely will attack you if it feels even a little bothered by you. No this isnât limited just to bears and other predators, but to bison and moose and elk and basically any large animal at all.Â
- Yes, if it attacks you it absolutely will fuck you up.Â
- No, you wonât get any sympathy from anyone. It was being a wild animal and you were being a dipshit. I can tell you with plenty of experience that locals anywhere with abundant wildlife love to pass around stories of the latest asshole who got gored by a bison because they wanted a cool picture for their instagramÂ
- The general rule for being around wildlife is that at a minimum you want to stay 25 yards away from herbivores, and 100 yards away from carnivores. That says yards, not feet. But if the animal seems to be paying any attention to you at all, youâre too close.Â
- No, you shouldnât feed it. Ever. Yes, this includes you again, with your âspecial connection to animalsâ.Â
This probably seems a tad abrasive and unnecessary if youâre not someone who lives in the backcountry, but let me tell you I probably once a month or so have to yell at someone to back away from an animal as fast as possible because they donât know how to read its body language and are unaware just how close their photoshoot is to getting them mauled. Just today I had to tell a lady to get away from a bison, because she didnât know the way it was raising its tail was a warning sign. Itâs extremely frustrating and disrespectful to the animals youâre stressing out because you want to post something cool to your feed. They live here, youâre lucky enough to visit, that should be enough for you. If you really love them, youâll leave them alone.
If youâd like to hear about more harmful impacts Instagram-minded wildlife tourism has had on animals, Iâd recommend this episode of National Geographicâs Overheard podcast.Â
germansingergirl
izzy806
baratheonpilled
snowghoul
titsay
yousharknotpass
