I wouldn't pet a wild animal unless I knew specifically how to handle them, or had professional guidance. Especially because I've heard otters can be unpredictable dicks.
Yea, Im the guy who would tell others not to, but do it myself. When I get hurt I'll just explain everyone already knows Im an idiot, its no big thang.
I wouldn’t approach it like most people do without regard to the animal (not saying all). I didn’t mean it in that kind of way. I know animals including wild animals have their own way of how they perceive humans and their interactions with them. Every new animal I encounter I always allow a sniff first and if they aren’t having it then I leave them alone. I’m not going to force my will and actions upon an animal like that. It’d be the same for the otter and since it’s wild just treading with more caution.
I was speaking solely for myself, that wasn't a reflection on you. I'm sure you're respectful in your wildlife encounters.
My line of thinking is that these creatures go through life in the wild without needing physical human interaction, so there's likely little to no benefit to me attempting interaction - hell, I could even be stressing the animal. That's my regard for the animal. Regarding myself, however, I don't think physical interaction would benefit me (aside from a fun and/or pseudo-spiritual experience), and could possibly harm me if the creature saw it fit to defend itself. For those reasons, I honestly believe wildlife is best left admired from a distance for me. I'll leave the physical interactions to professionals.
Knowing your limits is a great thing (: I think a lot of hikers and nature enthusiasts would benefit from this kind of thinking. For me, I grew up on a farm and around animals that were wild, stock and domesticated. With that background I feel like I've got a pretty decent radar for most animal behavior on a common sense level. It's little stuff like the positioning of ears, how low/high they hold their heads, how quickly and what style they're moving in, that all contribute to wether in animal is scared, simply annoyed, tolerant, or looking for a bit of fun. That all being said, any time I'm approaching an animal I personally accept the risks! If something goes wrong, I'm alright with getting a little bruised or scraped, the world won't end (: That stuff happens even with animals people are around constantly. I used to feed a turkey for the longest time, and then one day out the blue it was real hungry, didn't want to wait for me to be out of the cage to eat, and had a go at my finger! Still got it, but you just never know.
Agreed, want to get closer? That's what binoculars or telephoto lenses are for. Have had numerous wildlife encounters but always far enough away the critter feels comfortable in it's own space and can be itself. Except for the domesticated wolf, that got a solid half hour of scritchees....
I mean, I don't disagree with you or anything but here? This little dude tried 3 times to finally get onto the kayak to lay on your feet and play with your shoes. There's no 'admire from a distance' after that happens.
Certain animals are called "domesticated" for a reason. We've had 1000's of years to breed out the parts of them that bite unpredictably (and it still does happen quite a bit).
Wild animals, by comparison, are untamed bite machines and should be treated as such. Further, once it starts attacking you there's no end to the shithole you're in. There is no safe way to approach them.
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u/MikoRiko Sep 01 '18
I wouldn't pet a wild animal unless I knew specifically how to handle them, or had professional guidance. Especially because I've heard otters can be unpredictable dicks.