Selfie with a Bear

No. Just… no.

I am seeing or hearing about people trying to get close to wild animals — to make friends or take selfies — often enough that I find it truly disturbing.

Grizzly and black bears. Mountain goats. Moose. Bison.

I’m guessing that many of the people engaging in this behavior will tell you they’re afraid of spiders, or bees. But there’s something happening here if you think you’re in less danger from a moose than from a wolf spider.

For the record, I’m not talking about encounters that happen on the trail. In that case, it’s important for us to understand whose habitat we’re in, and how these animals live their lives, so that we can prepare to mitigate this kind of contact (by singing, or carrying bear spray, or knowing how to behave if you come across a moose).

As for the other thing — random people trying to get good phone photos with megafauna — people seem undeterred. I do not understand it.

Any of these animals will kill you, without hesitation, particularly if they feel threatened. Humans are grizzly-sized snacks. Prey animals will stomp, or gore you. It seems like a terrible way to die.

We even see this kind of human hubris — to a much lesser degree, because the animals are smaller and already working with humans — with birds like him:

I kind of get it with Oroville. He’s small, and fluffy. He has giant dark eyes. He kind of looks kind of like a muppet. We’re programmed (by puppies and kittens) to be drawn to cute animals. And Oroville is nothing if not cute — he is adorable.

But.

He’s designed to kill small animals with his feet. His beak is for tearing flesh.

He’s sassy.

Also, he’s a wild bird.

If he feels like you’ve invaded his space in the wrong way, he won’t hesitate to convey that to you.

A few years ago, after picking up some poop from his floor I stood up right in front of him. I was facing him and he was near a corner — my lack of awareness in that moment led to those mistakes.

Oroville jumped off the perch and hit me in the face.

Was it his fault? Absolutely not. I should have moved more toward the center of the mew before I stood up. I should have turned my back so that I didn’t create the impression that I was trying to ambush him.

Was he trying to hurt me? No. He was trying to get me to go away, or at least to create space between us.

Did he hurt me? Yes. He hit the bridge of my nose and gave me a minor black eye. I hadn’t ever experienced being smacked in the face like that… it’s surprisingly painful. I teared up as my brain processed the blow, and it took a few minutes to stop seeing stars.

This is an animal I’d known/been around/handled for years. This bird is habituated to the presence of people. It was not my intention to make him feel threatened.

But he is a wild bird, and living in human care doesn’t change anything about that, except that he is more bored by our presence than fearful of us… unless we act in ways he thinks are unpredictable when we’re close to him.

When adults ask if they can pet him, I point to my glove, remind them that I signed a waiver, and ask if they like their fingers (that’s a bit hyperbolic… while it’s true that he is a biter, he’s not a parrot).

Moral of the story: wild animals are wild and will behave accordingly. Big enough predators are a threat to us; we are a threat to prey animals and smaller predators.

Defensive behavior is aggressive and can cause harm to people who find themselves in the way of it. (This is true with any animal, including humans.)

Most healthy, well fed wild animals don’t want much to do with humans. An injured, sick, or malnourished wild animal likely doesn’t want much to do with humans either… but desperation has the potential to lead to some dangerous situations.

Here’s the thing: you may not be able to tell by looking that a wild animal is under environmental or physical stress. And I *guarantee* that even if you are an interested observer, you do not have special insight into any individual’s potential response to your presence.

Let wild animals be wild. Learn how to manage wildlife encounters for your safety, and for the safety of the animal.

If you want a close up view of a majestic creature, take up photography with a long lens, or support your local wildlife photographer.

Otherwise, it should be everyone’s goal to give wild animals enough distance to make choices that don’t involve us.