What is a safe distance for large, non-predatory wildlife?
When visiting areas with free-roaming wildlife such as American Bison and Texas Longhorns, there are numerous signs warning about keeping a safe distance. They don't, however, actually specify the safe distance.
While I would normally steer clear (pun intended) of predatory animals such as wolves, bears, etc, I would love to photograph some of these large herbivores. However, they can be very protective when threatened:
Though they can appear peaceful and unconcerned, their temperament is unpredictable, and can respond quickly when disturbed. ... Females are very protective of their young, and can become aggressive if threatened.
Is there a general rule or recommended safe distance for non-predatory animals, such that they don't feel threatened?
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/10210. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
Each species and possibly even each individual animal will behave very differently. A good rule of thumb is: if wildlife reacts to you, you are too close. I think this is the most general way to answer you question and has the benefit of giving you instantaneous feedback. If the animal looks straight at you, back off until it resumes what it was doing.
The motivation behind this is the following: If an animal reacts to a human, it is likely to be stressed. A common reaction to stress is to flee. Either the animal is unable to flee, which will increase the stress which can make the animal sick if it happens frequently, or it takes off and wastes precious energy in the process, possibly leaving a juvenile behind.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/10213. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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