This is a great post. Now, how do we get the tourons to read it haha
I live near the Rockies, and every summer we get people trying to feed grizzlies and black bears on the edge of the road, or walking up to mountain sheep with huge horns designed for pulverizing predators. My wife gets so angry and disgusted with the way people act. It’s also a traffic hazard since they slam on the brakes and park wherever they want, swing open the drivers door without checking, and run with glee towards a 500 lb animal that could kill them in so many ways.
I lived in Colorado and watched the same thing. You should see what happened to the monkeys in Myanmar- tourists feed them crap, they are obese, their skin has terrible lesions, their hair is falling out and they look leprous. That alone should tell us what that shit is doing to us but honestly, we are too dumb to realize it.
Unless someone has a gun, the moose usually wins. I hope. I really couldn't deal with the photo of the little girl and that goddamned alligator. I. Just. Can't.
Ooooh man, I'm disappointed we didn't get to see the rest of the moose video lol.
This is SUCH a good post. I was literally going to write the exact same response as Tim (below). He and I live only a couple hours apart and he's right...we see it all out here near the Rockies.
Just a couple weeks ago on my morning walk with the dog, I saw a family of moose (who basically live in my neighborhood) grazing beside our tennis court. And OF COURSE there were stupid humans walking up at close as they could to try taking pictures. It's as if they have no clue these are wild and LARGE animals with babies by their sides.
If you want to see a moose or a bear up close....GOOGLE it.
Right? You can't legislate stupid. But then there are all those videos of rescued moose snuggling their humans. So humans think OOOOOOHHHHH I want that!!! Fine. You try it, Sparky.
You can't cure stupid lol. Even my dog is smart enough not to bark at the moose. She'll stand very still watching them but won't even try making a move!
Thank you Joan. I lose my common sense often enough so I need to be careful where I point, but in this regard, there are huge prices to pay for foolishness.
You'd think. But even smaller ones- like scorpions, which are more deadly the smaller they get. And those folks who have to do a selfie next to a rattler and get mad when the rattler does what it will do: bite when threatened. There were people insisting on packing away baby moose and deer in their cars in Yellowstone and delivering them to the headquarters. WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? That getting lost doesn't happen in the wild, and that herds don't come looking? Or that perhaps the baby fell behind and was intentionally left because it was a danger to the herd?
I really do get the savior mentality. But it's dangerous for all concerned. Mess with babies in the wild and often the result isn't gratitude.
Wonderful post, but I'm afraid you may be preaching to the choir as I can't imagine any of your readers being so dumb and disrespectful as to behave like the tourons you cite. As for elephant sanctuaries, I'm sure you know about the highly reputed and well-regarded Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. They do wonderful work rescuing, nurturing, and returning to the wild orphan baby elephants and rhinos. A friend of mine gave me a wonderful gift of a sponsorship of one of their orphan babies.
Yes, Jan, I've visited Sheldrick twice and done stories on them, and I also sponsored a baby. I may well be, but even my closest friends admit to feeding deer off their porch. So while it may be true that we know better, too many of us don't do better. I've been guilty of this myself years ago, and so I am including myself in this just as much.
This is a great post. Now, how do we get the tourons to read it haha
I live near the Rockies, and every summer we get people trying to feed grizzlies and black bears on the edge of the road, or walking up to mountain sheep with huge horns designed for pulverizing predators. My wife gets so angry and disgusted with the way people act. It’s also a traffic hazard since they slam on the brakes and park wherever they want, swing open the drivers door without checking, and run with glee towards a 500 lb animal that could kill them in so many ways.
I lived in Colorado and watched the same thing. You should see what happened to the monkeys in Myanmar- tourists feed them crap, they are obese, their skin has terrible lesions, their hair is falling out and they look leprous. That alone should tell us what that shit is doing to us but honestly, we are too dumb to realize it.
Tim, I was going to type this exact same thing, given where we live. We sure see a lot of idiocy around here don't we?!
Thank you for the mention - sometimes, I despair about the overarching stupidity of humans. Or arrogance. Whichever, I'm rooting for the moose.
Unless someone has a gun, the moose usually wins. I hope. I really couldn't deal with the photo of the little girl and that goddamned alligator. I. Just. Can't.
Yeah, that was horrifying. What kind of parent?
the kind that clearly isn't afraid to monetize the kids' danger
Ooooh man, I'm disappointed we didn't get to see the rest of the moose video lol.
This is SUCH a good post. I was literally going to write the exact same response as Tim (below). He and I live only a couple hours apart and he's right...we see it all out here near the Rockies.
Just a couple weeks ago on my morning walk with the dog, I saw a family of moose (who basically live in my neighborhood) grazing beside our tennis court. And OF COURSE there were stupid humans walking up at close as they could to try taking pictures. It's as if they have no clue these are wild and LARGE animals with babies by their sides.
If you want to see a moose or a bear up close....GOOGLE it.
Right? You can't legislate stupid. But then there are all those videos of rescued moose snuggling their humans. So humans think OOOOOOHHHHH I want that!!! Fine. You try it, Sparky.
You can't cure stupid lol. Even my dog is smart enough not to bark at the moose. She'll stand very still watching them but won't even try making a move!
So interesting Julia... what an amazing background you have! Love the photos! Thanks for the reminders...if only folks had common sense! 😉
Thank you Joan. I lose my common sense often enough so I need to be careful where I point, but in this regard, there are huge prices to pay for foolishness.
Funny, not funny...know what you mean re common sense. It seems instinctive to me to beware large animals.
You'd think. But even smaller ones- like scorpions, which are more deadly the smaller they get. And those folks who have to do a selfie next to a rattler and get mad when the rattler does what it will do: bite when threatened. There were people insisting on packing away baby moose and deer in their cars in Yellowstone and delivering them to the headquarters. WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? That getting lost doesn't happen in the wild, and that herds don't come looking? Or that perhaps the baby fell behind and was intentionally left because it was a danger to the herd?
I really do get the savior mentality. But it's dangerous for all concerned. Mess with babies in the wild and often the result isn't gratitude.
Wonderful post, but I'm afraid you may be preaching to the choir as I can't imagine any of your readers being so dumb and disrespectful as to behave like the tourons you cite. As for elephant sanctuaries, I'm sure you know about the highly reputed and well-regarded Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya. They do wonderful work rescuing, nurturing, and returning to the wild orphan baby elephants and rhinos. A friend of mine gave me a wonderful gift of a sponsorship of one of their orphan babies.
Yes, Jan, I've visited Sheldrick twice and done stories on them, and I also sponsored a baby. I may well be, but even my closest friends admit to feeding deer off their porch. So while it may be true that we know better, too many of us don't do better. I've been guilty of this myself years ago, and so I am including myself in this just as much.
Good point. I've been known in my foolish youth to feed a raccoon or two . . . so I'm lucky to still have all my fingers.
Thank you for this.
You are so welcome. Not sure it's going to make a difference but needs to be said.