Quote:

I still remember one lady walking up to a bull elk - in the middle of mating season - and stating, "Hey Harry, take a picture of me and the elk!"


Did you get the picture, too?

The animals in many parks, especially Yellowstone and The Smokies, are more acclimated to humans and more easily approached. I've seen many examples, like the lady with her elk, that are not only dangerous but do disturb the critters' natural behaviours. I saw a teenager charged by a bear when he tried to get close for a face shot with his cardboard camera. Fortunately for him it was only a bluff charge. I had earlier warned him about getting too close but he ignored me. When I saw his wet pants, I didn't need to say; "I told you so". He was lucky.

An even bigger concern is the encroachment of urban and suburban sprawl into the animals' habitat. In our area next to the Smokies, housing developments and rental cabins are replacing the farms, fields, forests, and ridges, seriously impacting the animals' food sources and movement patterns. This affects not only the larger animals but the small critters as well. Not a day goes by that I don't see skunks, possums, or raccoons dead along the roadways, not to mention the occasional deer.

The fact is that there are now over 300 million people in the US, up from the 125 million way back when I was born. Those extra 175 million people have to be somewhere, unfortunately for the critters, it's their habitat.

I hope the two snappers will get back together again and resume their mating.

Dick:)

Every day is a good day.