Keeping the Wild in Wildlife

I have photographed a lot of different wildlife over the years. As I thought about this post, and was going through images, it took me back to so many places, so many special moments in time. One thing I’ve always liked about wildlife photography, is that moment I capture will never happen again. It’s like I have some magical ability to freeze time, forever.

When I first started wildlife photography, a friend told me, “Any time your behavior alters theirs, you’re not doing it right.” I remember these words every time I’m out photographing. I don’t encroach on their space, I give them plenty of room to go where they want to go, I’m quite and respectful in their home.

And it is their home, I am the visitor, the interloper.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of things working against keeping our wildlife, wild. The first one of course is people who selfishly think they can do whatever they want. They stomp into the homes of our wildlife, make noise, throw garbage, try to pet them, generally disrupt their lives in a major way.

The second threat is our current government. I’m not going to go into that, because it’s obvious what’s happening, and we all see it.

So how do we keep our wildlife, wild, and most of all safe?

Respect. Respect for their home, their lives, and the life they want to live. Imagine yourself visiting a castle when you are in the wild. Would you be disrespectful? Hopefully not.

Reminding others to do the same. If you see someone trying to pet the fluffy cows, remind that it could end badly, and they for sure don’t want to be petted.

Speaking out to keep our wild places wild. Public lands belong to all of us, the American people, let’s keep it that way for future generations.

Wildlife is resilient, beautiful, and an integral part of our world. Nothing brings me more joy than watching our animal friends live their best wild life.

I am currently working on a post with my husband, who is an amazing charcoal artist. We will be exploring how to draw, what your eye is seeing. This will be a series of how to posts, available to paid subscribers. So be on the look out for that, and be sure to subscribe.