Watch Where You Step

It’s so tempting to want to escape to some place wild. Get away from humanity and all the problems our species causes for us. But when you get away from it all, remember to watch where you step. Wild places are wonderful because they are still wild. Untrampled. So don’t trample the wild spaces you find. Do your best to preserve all the living things you encounter: plants, bugs, snakes, birds, tiny critters, or not so tiny critters.

Admit it. You love wildlife! So show some respect when you travel, vacation, or wander off the beaten path. Always watch where you step.

Heartbreakingly enough, showing respect also means not ‘helping’ wildlife when you’re in the wild. You want to. You really want to. You want to pick up that baby thing and rescue it. Or search for its mother. Caress it. Stroke it. Feel bad for it. But don’t. Watch where you step and what you touch.

Let the wild things be wild even if you don’t want to, even though you’re thoroughly domesticated yourself and have no memory of wildness. When out there, watch where you step and avoid disturbing wildlife.

Don’t pick winners and losers, prey over predators. As you know intellectually, there’s a balance in nature. Respect the balance. Part of this respect is to watch where you step so you don’t interfere.

Don’t try to feed wild animals either. The survival of many wild animals depends on them retaining a healthy wariness toward humanity. Feeding animals pokes holes in that wariness that are detrimental to everyone. And human food is often really bad for wild animals. French fries aren’t any better for baboons than they are for you!

It’s not enough to watch where you step. Watch what you bring when you visit the wild as well! Your sunscreen is probably full of chemicals that aren’t great for the native residents of the area. Same for your insect repellent, cosmetics, personal care items, even your clothes and gear, as well as, of course, things like soda and water bottles. Do your best to pack in items that will not cause long-term damage to the environment, watershed, or wildlife. Not all items are equally wildlife ‘unfriendly’, so check your stuff out before you bring it.

And then no one will need to be pretty fed up with you!