Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Maybe I need more coffee, or at least proof read my post!  Sorry for all the typos

Jackie

Jackie Causgrove <fairhairwolf@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Humans encounter bears and other wildlife countless times (well, if in a "given area".  Not in Chicago! :)

Anyways, the vast majority of the times, absolutely nothing happens, other than the animal runs off (and usually the human but hopefully in different directions).

 

I've turned corners in camp and came face to face with 1,000 pound bears.  We both looked at each other and headed for different areas.  Neither one of us wanted anything to do the the other in such close quarters. 

 

And with the majority of cases with fatalities with wildlife, it is the person who has inadvertently set off the attack.  They've unknowingly have sent a message that challenges the animal.  It's sort of a communication but with terrible outcomes.

 

It's very, very uncommon for any wildlife just to attack, unprovoked. 

 

Heck, when I was in Tanzania, I had a big cat sleeping on the pad, right outside my tent.  Yes, I ws stuck in my tent.  Yes, I was quiet. Yes, my eyes were big when I realized what was panting directly outside my tent.  No, I didn't panic and start screaming or trying to inadvertently provoke the animal.  Eventually, someone in camp came looking for me and the camp aides managed to move the animal off.  Made for an interesting and boring morning, all at once.

 

When you live or travel in places where there is wildlife, there will be encounters.  It is up to the humans to understand the animal's behavior and not the other way around.  And unfortunately, with wild animals, not all encounters will be good; however, rare those may be.

 

It is up to us to protect them from us and not the other way around.

 

Jackie

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