Originally posted by 35mmfilmfan I do wonder if some of the ignorance concerning wild animals stems from the habit of giving young children 'cuddly' toys in the form of animals - I am thinking particularly of teddy bears. Many other animals responsible for injuries to adults are also given as toys to children.
I have seen a photo of a group of people (possibly in Yellowstone) exiting their car while being approached by a family of bears - one adult, several part-grown cubs. The caption read 'Look, children ! Meals on wheels !'
Apropos Canada Geese, I was out birding a long time ago, scope on tripod, when several CG approached while I was engrossed in looking at other wildfowl one the reservoir. Suddenly, I received a sharp hard blow on the leg, hard enough to leave a dent. Fortunately, it was the leg of the tripod, which I then employed to ward off the Geese, while backing towards the fence over which I had had to climb, the gates being padlocked shut.
The dent was so severe that the leg wouldn't collapse, and I had to dismantle it and sort it out later - had the blow hit me, it could easily have caused muscle damage or severed a blood vessel. Never trusted them since.
I dunno, I have a giant teddy bear (back then, bigger than me
) and I've always been of the impression that bears are adorable fluffy creatures... from the right end of a 400mm lens. I know Bert likes getting closer to them but that ain't for me
. I think the main issue is that a lot of people think that humans own the planet and that we are top of the food chain 24/7 and not only when we get clever.