How to Hike Safely Around Wildlife

Video Transcript

"Hi, I’m Kate I’m with Zoar Outdoor on behalf of expertvillage.com and we’re going to be talking about hiking today. When you’re hiking you’re going to want to use safety and precautions around wildlife. Wildlife can be anything from squirrels, lizards to deer’s, to bear, to the plant life around you. When you are hiking and you’re hiking quietly hopefully, you’re going to be noticing older buck rubs, which show that there are deer’s here, tracks, scat, anything like that you might be able to notice. You’re also going to be able to notice ferns, these things take a while to grow, you don’t want to trample all over them. You don’t want to touch any lizards or small animals you see, look, don’t touch. When you are hiking along, you need to be concerned about other animals, bears, rattle snakes, bobcats, depending on where you are, you should check it out in the guidebook. There are different ways to handle each, but basically you want to let them be, you don’t want to be in their area. So if you come in contact with anything that is potentially hazardous, just take your time, assess the situation, don’t provoke them and don’t make them feel like they’re being provoked. Be aware of what’s around you, read your guidebooks and just be aware of how to handle each situation. As it comes to you, hopefully you’ll be able to see some great wildlife though from a far, not be able to touch it and enjoy your hike, that’s why you’re out here."