Encroaching on Their Territory: Animal Encounters
Most of us do not appreciate having what is known as their ‘personal space’ invaded, and can become quite angry when this occurs. When dealing with wild animal encounters we often assume they should tolerate our intrusion without protest or reprisals from them.
Wild animals usually avoid our approach until provoked…..
When we come face-to-face with wild animals, we need to recognize our limitations and that putting ourselves and the animal at risk goes both ways. People from countries without such animals may be excused from such behaviour as they may not be familiar with potential danger. But even domesticated cows and bulls can react when approached improperly as many have learned the hard way.
At times, our inability to act responsibly for our own health and safety by giving wild animals space results in fatal consequences, and exposes our ignorance regarding their capabilities and how we should act around them. With more and more people seeking thrills by venturing into wild areas for thrills or seeking thrills at any cost, this type of incident has become all too frequent; yet few realize the risk we are exposing ourselves to as we’ve become used to viewing wild animals as friendly, placid creatures easily captured via social media and petting attractions across foreign lands.
Wild animals tend to avoid human contact when provoked or feel threatened; only then may they become dangerous, especially if protecting their offspring. Unfortunately, residents in countries like the USA, Canada and Africa should know better but individuals still insist on entering areas designated solely for animals despite any advice to do otherwise.
Tragically, many examples of fatal attacks illustrate this pattern of neglectful behaviour. Darshe Patel was hiking with four friends in a Reserve in New Jersey when they were advised by wildlife officials not to continue due to a black bear being present, yet continued anyway and encountered it. Darshe stopped for a photo op before being attacked and killed by it while his four companions ran for safety; eventually the bear was tracked down and shot. Additionally, Brad Treat was mountain biking through Montana forest reserve when he collided with grizzly bear which immediately attacked and killed him before not killing itself due to it being natural response from physical contact between humans and animal species.”
Yellowstone Park was home to another incident wherein two individuals approached a bison and attempted to take a selfie, only for it to trample them instead. Furthermore, in 2015 an American woman visiting South African Lion Park disregarded warnings to close her car window when taking photographs; she allowed a male lion within yards before mauling her to death before moving onto other animals nearby.
Animal encounters can often prove deadly for all involved.
In August 2015, Lance Crosby, aged 63 and working as a medic in Yellowstone Park decided to ignore warning notices and enter an area restricted to hikers; upon doing so he encountered Blaze the grizzly bear with two cubs which became extremely protective over them and felt threatened, attacking and killing him almost instantly.
Although she was well-liked in the park and had a history of harmless attacks on humans, she was immediately sentenced to death despite a strong international effort pleading her case for reprieve. Analysis of DNA sampling and footprint analysis at her’murder site’ confirmed she killed someone and that her mistake in killing was eating parts of them; so for public safety purposes she was hunted down and shot, while her two cubs were shipped off to Toledo Zoo to be kept captive until eventually released after lifetime confinement due to one misguided person trying to invade her space!
The Washington Post quoted the park superintendent as stating, ‘we can’t prioritize protecting one individual bear over human lives, which has become the standard line in all such incidents; and that ‘the decision was based on sound science.
As much as we set aside large tracts of land in order to protect animals and habitat, with such grandiose names as national parks, reserves and conservation areas we are quickly turning them into giant adventure playgrounds for us humans and our families – mountain biking, hiking, picnicking, climbing mountains and kayaking rivers without thought for how they affect the animals’ safety – far from providing safety zones, we increasingly invade these spaces, trampling over their habitat and disturbing them; any time they attempt to attack us we dispose of them quickly.
It hardly seems fair and, if we truly wish to preserve wildlife for future generations, perhaps we should give more thought as to who really benefits from these areas, while keeping humans away.
Therefore, when experiencing our wonderful wild spaces and encounters with animals, please keep your distance and show more consideration for them; irresponsible or ignorant behaviors could result in their deaths.