Basic Wild Animal Safety

Animal safety is very important whether you’re looking for a place to throw away trash or if you encounter a bear. No matter your situation,  you need to know what to do to stay safe. Keep reading to learn about precautions you need to take. 

First, let’s talk about animal encounters.  If you see a moose, back away very slowly to your car, shelter, or any far distance. If the moose charges, RUN as fast as you can. You should also put objects like a tree, bolder, or bush in between you and the moose. This is entirely different than advice for a bear encounter. When you see a bear, you need to stay very very still. You need to raise your arms so you appear bigger and taller. You should also yell at the bear and make loud noises like banging objects around you or screaming at it so it will back off. Once the bear backs off, you can slowly walk back but try not to turn your back on the bear.

Now let’s talk about general animal safety. When in a National Park or out in the wild, the simplest advice is to throw your trash away so you don’t attract animals.  Also if you’re in a National park with bears you need to dispose of your trash in bear-safe containers. Not throwing away your trash could injure the animals by making them choke or they could die because they can’t consume certain trash. Another important piece of advice is about feeding animals. When you’re in a National Park do not feed the animals. This could lead to health concerns and disturb the animal. It could also kill the animals depending on what you feed them. Lastly don’t use flash when taking pictures of animals. This could scare the animals or make them mad and attack. Scaring the animals will startle them and they could make a wrong move and hurt themselves or you. If the animal gets mad that could lead to your getting hurt and injured.

Animal safety is very important, especially in National Parks. Knowing what to do will keep both you and the animals safe.