Whenever I’m fortunate enough to encounter wildlife in its natural habitat I’m always struck by what a privilege it is that I get to spend a little part of their day with them. It’s an amazing experience to see a shorebird catch a crab, watch a weaver building its nest, catch a snake sunning itself on a rock, or observe a mother raccoon with her babies searching for food in the waters of an urban park. No matter what species of wildlife I’m watching, rural or urban, it’s important to me that my presence not disturb that animal from going about its business of living. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same and I’ve seen many people behave in ways that not only disturbed the wildlife they encountered but was at times terribly detrimental.
While I’m always glad to hear someone tell me they love animals, I’m happier to hear them say they also respect them. With respect comes much better behaviour then with love alone; all kinds of crazy things are said and done in the name of love and most often it results in the suffering of the very animals people have professed to love, even when that might not be their intent. Maybe you’ve heard the expression ‘killing with kindness’? Sometimes we think we are doing something beneficial for another being because in human terms it would be kind but in fact it ends up being detrimental to that animal, like feeding wildlife for example (and yes, this includes the ducks and geese that live around your local pond). Human food is not part of a wild animal’s natural diet – in fact it is often bad for their health – so while someone may think that feeding it is helping, or just a fun activity to do with your kids, it will likely end up causing more problems for that animal. Feeding wildlife creates unnatural behaviours such as viewing humans as a source of food. When this happens you have more wildlife approaching people, which is not a natural behaviour, and it can often result in injuries to both wildlife and humans.
There’s one experience I had while in Africa that I’ll never forget. We were visiting Ngorongoro Crater and we came upon a cheetah that was hunting some Thompson’s gazelle. We were not the only safari vehicle to find this cheetah so there were a few groups around. Of course, African safaris are not inexpensive trips to take so I had assumed that people who take these trips are interested in and respectful of wildlife. Well, you know what they say about assuming, right? While the majority of visitors remained quiet, unfortunately the people in the jeep next to us started yelling and ‘cheering on’ the cheetah. This loud, disruptive and utterly disrespectful behaviour cost the cheetah his or her kill by scaring the gazelles away. Do I know with 100% certainty that the cheetah would have made a successful kill if everyone had been respectful and silent? No. But I do know with 100% certainty that their horrid behaviour did indeed cost the cheetah the opportunity of a meal. I also don’t know when the cheetah had last eaten or whether it was a female with cubs waiting for her somewhere, so the people who scared away the gazelles might have cost some cubs their meal as well.
It doesn’t matter if you’re on a tour to view wildlife or you’re sitting in a local park with urban wildlife –like squirrels and geese...don’t forget that these are wild animals just because they live in the city – respecting their right to go about their business without being disrupted by you is extremely important. The outdoors is where they live. I’m not sure you’d like it very much if someone came into your personal space, like your home, and started harassing you so why should it be any different for an animal’s home? Teach the children in your life that things like chasing or touching wildlife are not ok and may result in someone getting hurt. Sitting and observing wildlife quietly and respectfully is the best approach to learning about them and how amazing they are. And having your camera ready is a great way to capture some special moments you can share with your friends and family later.
