Camping and Wildlife

While living outdoors camping, you can not help but be surrounded by wildlife. Viewing birds, squirrels, deer, opossum, and other animals are a great blessing and can add to your fun. Of course there are certain things to do when camping to make the experience more enjoyable.

Never approach wildlife. Wild animals can be strong and fast. They especially get agitated when defending themselves or when they feel their offspring are threatened. Cornering a wild animal will definately increase their feelings of vunerability so back away slowly. If you’ve got young children along, make sure you keep an eye on them and teach them to call for help if necessary.

Sick or overly aggressive animals may be affected by rabies. If you’re in a campground, it’s a good idea to report these animals to a park ranger or someone else in charge.

It’s also really important to never keep food in your tent. Throw away all waste product immediately and pack away any leftovers. Hanging it in a tree is one option - make sure the food is at least 10 feet off the ground and about 3 or 4 feet away from the trunk. Ensure you use good plastic containers animals can’t get into. You may also store these containers in your car for extra protection.

My scouting group uses a big footlocker type trunk to store food. The cool thing about it is that is also functions as a bench, footrest, or small table that is good for playing card games on.

Speaking of food, never feed the animals. This can result in unpredictable behavior and puts you in a dangerous situation. Besides for encouraging them to return later for more food, this will lessen their natural instincts to take care of themselves.

Keep these general principals in mind and hopefully your next camping trip will be safe and you’ll have an enjoyable time watching the wildlife.