High Country Life

Travelling animal-friendly is an increasingly important priority, and should be an ongoing effort for travellers and operators. Responsible encounters should focus on animal behaviours that support habitat conservation. In particular, experiences that exploit or exploited animals (for instance tiger selfies or dog sledding) must also take this into consideration.

Visit reputable sanctuaries that focus on conservation and education instead.

Respect the Animals’ Needs

Children taught animal welfare from an early age are more likely to grow into kind, caring adults. This starts in the home when teaching children how to care for their own pets and other animals before expanding out into social interactions with animals outside. Children should learn not to touch animals unless it’s intended, reading body language to avoid accidentally startling an animal, as well as reading their body language when encountering new ones; this prevents inadvertently frightening them while encouraging empathy development.

Encourage children to use their imaginations to put themselves in the shoes of animals and consider what their feelings would be in certain scenarios. This can help them learn to treat animals with care and avoid tease-teasing by pulling at tails or ears; furthermore it teaches patience when engaging with animal species that might not respond as quickly or according to expectations.

Teaching children how to safely approach any animal they don’t recognize requires asking an adult first and never approaching wild animals that don’t appear used to humans. Children should remain at least 75 feet from wildlife in general and 120 feet (two bus lengths away for black bears, moose, and mountain lions), providing both parties with protection.

Explain that wildlife plays a critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, such as predator-prey dynamics and seed dispersal. Respecting wildlife’s natural behaviors ensures they can continue their important work while giving visitors an enjoyable experience.

Teach kids that all animals deserve clean water, food and shelter as well as comfortable resting spaces. Show them how to provide these basic needs to their own pet as well as ensure it receives daily, weekly or annual enrichment to stay mentally and physically active.

Introduce children to the value of adopting pets from shelters or rescue organizations instead of purchasing from breeders, which supports an inhumane industry. Encourage them to shop consciously by avoiding foods derived from animal testing or products harmful to farmed animals such as cows and chickens. Volunteering together at local shelters or rescue organizations as a family is another great way for kids to develop responsibility while learning to care for animals responsibly.

Respect the Animals’ Habitats

From Zion National Park’s towering mountains to Canyonlands and Banff’s dry deserts, wildlife in our region has no shortage of natural habitats in which to call home. As such, animals tend to live closer to human communities than elsewhere, making them more likely to approach or interact with us humans without actually coming close enough for contact.

Even when this interaction takes place naturally, visitors should treat wild animals with respect and caution. They have evolved to avoid humans as potential predators; approaching too closely could prompt the animal to defend itself or become distressed, while disrupting its natural behavior could have detrimental impacts on ecosystem (e.g. predator-prey dynamics, seed dispersal or nutrient cycling).

As such, it’s crucial that visitors don’t come into contact with wildlife that has become habituated to human attention and is no longer living comfortably in its native habitat. Therefore, booking wildlife experiences through companies that prioritize animal welfare is ideal to ensure both a quality experience for visitors and an ethical one for the creatures you encounter – better for both yourself and the creatures themselves! In doing so you also help reduce demand for dubious operators that care less for animal welfare in favor of turning a quick profit instead.

Respect wildlife by adhering to the Leave No Trace principle when out and about in nature or traveling through it. Any debris left behind – like wrappers from granola bars and yogurt containers – that gets into their food sources can be potentially fatal for wildlife; similarly, disrupting natural feeding cycles of wildlife could disrupt their nutrition and lead to disease or starvation.

As you travel around, it is essential that you remember every location is also a wildlife sanctuary. While it may be easy to distinguish between ethical and problematic wildlife experiences, it is also essential that you question how the animals got here – such as selfie experiences with captive animals or riding them for fun – such as selfie experiences or riding them for entertainment purposes. There are plenty of animal sanctuaries that put animal welfare first – visit the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries’ Find a Sanctuary map if there are none nearby!

Keep Noise Levels Down

Noise pollution is a growing problem both within human communities and natural habitats, particularly for animal populations living there. A 1974 report from the Environmental Protection Agency suggests listening and talking at levels no louder than 70dB for 24-hour period due to hearing loss escalating rapidly due to exposure.

When encountering other animals in their natural environment, try to keep your noise level down as much as possible. Talking, whistling or shouting may cause unnecessary disruption for other creatures and stress them out; leading them to avoid human interaction altogether – not good for either party!

Responsible wildlife experiences revolve around watching animals from a safe distance without luring, baiting, encroaching on their space, interrupting natural behaviors or taking selfies with them. This form of encounter is much safer for both you and the animals alike and allows for much more authentic wildlife adventures! To further ensure responsible encounters visit certified sanctuaries listed by organizations like Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

Don’t Disturb Animals

Unnecessary disturbance of animals through noise or other actions is detrimental, often leading to stress and lasting trauma for both yourself and the animal. Run-ins with wild animals may happen anywhere: on trails, cruise ships or even your own backyard – for best results follow expert tips like those provided here when encountering them.

“When it comes to selecting the ideal wildlife experience, look for one which allows you to observe animal behavior in its natural setting without baiting or luring animals, interfering with their habits or making physical contact,” according to Fishman. This means no elephant rides, petting tigers or monkey performances or feeding animals–all which could potentially endanger both humans and wildlife alike.

Of course, even “responsible” wildlife experiences can have detrimental impacts on animals and communities involved. Therefore, when planning your trip it is essential that you conduct sufficient research. Search for companies committed to responsible tourism with certification from the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries that verifies they put animals first. Consideration should also be given to how your wildlife encounter impacts local communities in terms of littering, hiking trails or habitat damage. While such factors are often neglected when providing tourists with animal-based experiences, if you only book ethical wildlife experiences you’re helping reduce demand for companies who exploit animals while making it easier for more responsible wildlife experiences to thrive.