Respect Wildlife
You would not want random people walking through your home making a mess and bothering you would you, the animals don’t either. Here are some basics for interacting with animals in the wild.
Observe wildlife from afar
Keeping a distance from wildlife is crucial for their safety and yours. These are wild animals that can react in seemingly unpredictable or surprising ways. By keeping your distance you are also less likely to disturb the wildlife leading to better interaction for both you and them.
![Respect Wildlife](https://umaine.edu/outdoorleadership/wp-content/uploads/sites/601/2020/12/Respect-Wildlife-423x282.jpg)
Never feed wildlife
Animals are smart and if they learn that they can get easy food from humans they will. This directly leads to more human-wildlife interactions which leads to more wildlife being killed for endangering humans. If the wildlife is not deemed as threatening feeding, especially at a young age, can lead to it becoming reliant on humans which will lead to it dying on its own.
![Red Eastern Newt with bright orange spots](https://umaine.edu/outdoorleadership/wp-content/uploads/sites/601/2021/11/salamander_small-423x238.jpg)
Observe wildlife from afar
Keeping a distance from wildlife is crucial for their safety and yours. These are wild animals that can react in seemingly unpredictable or surprising ways. By keeping your distance you are also less likely to disturb the wildlife leading to better interaction for both you and them.
![Brown Bear in Nondalton, Alaska](https://umaine.edu/outdoorleadership/wp-content/uploads/sites/601/2023/11/IMG_3670-scaled-e1701282391634-423x344.jpg)