What an oddly Anthropomorphic title and come-on - "Hiding From Animals" and the "voyeurism" theme. The point of 'hiding' is principally to avoid disturbing natural state of animals - as opposed - in the case of secretly observing human beings - for other more peculiar reasons. The broader context of the article is rather interesting and doesn't need this cheapening approach to eliciting interest form the reader - at least from my perspective.
1
I thought a human's natural instinct was to try and hug every animal he or she encounters?
3
We have to be a part of nature to truly enjoy it and also stay apart from nature to truly understand it. In other words we need to be inside and outside.
4
Ah, Mary Sojourner, you bring up a great point. I cannot fathom how someone could spend time in nature, marveling at the ruffled patterns made by a breeze in the surface of a dark lake, or witness the visual symphony of a thousand birds flying in a fast-turning flock, and not be moved.
This week, we were reminded by the New Horizons spacecraft that we'll stop at nothing to search for life on other planets. But why, I often wonder, when at the same time we're killing all the life here on Earth? If we find life elsewhere, will we destroy it, too?
This week, we were reminded by the New Horizons spacecraft that we'll stop at nothing to search for life on other planets. But why, I often wonder, when at the same time we're killing all the life here on Earth? If we find life elsewhere, will we destroy it, too?
2
We have a meadow surrounding our house. It has clover and wild strawberries, acorns and other edibles that front our teeny forest and feed the local wildlife.
The other day, I looked out my window and saw a rabbit checking out edibles. I grabbed my camera, lifted the screen and asked the little critter to pause a minute while I took his picture. He looked at me, sat up proud as could be and posed. When I was through, he went back to his nibbling. This is not the first time it's happened. Cardinals, foxes, deer, squirrels, cows and a couple of pups have allowed me to capture them on camera over the years. I don't hide. I talk. They respond. I get good pictures and the joy of sharing a "model" moment with Mother Nature's other creatures.
The other day, I looked out my window and saw a rabbit checking out edibles. I grabbed my camera, lifted the screen and asked the little critter to pause a minute while I took his picture. He looked at me, sat up proud as could be and posed. When I was through, he went back to his nibbling. This is not the first time it's happened. Cardinals, foxes, deer, squirrels, cows and a couple of pups have allowed me to capture them on camera over the years. I don't hide. I talk. They respond. I get good pictures and the joy of sharing a "model" moment with Mother Nature's other creatures.
3
I'm reminded of this passage from the Wendell Barry poem, "I Go Among Trees and Sit Still" (from Sabbaths, 1987).
Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.
Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.
Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.
Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.
3
I live near a lake in Durham, NC, walking distance from my home. Some local bird watchers and nature lovers got together with the city of Durham and developed Sandy Creek recreation area. The boy scouts built a blind which faces the lake about half way down the trail that circles it. The blind is three sided with no roof, painted green, with various animals that inhabit the area hand painted on the outside.
In what my wife calls the Zen moment of my day, I walk Luna, my flat coated retriever to the lake in the evenings and go to the blind. In the late winter and early spring I can count on seeing a formation of 18 to 22 migratory geese land in perfect formation on the lake at precisely sunset, usually in 2 groups. We have a pair of blue heron that regularly hunt there as well as numerous bird species I cannot name. Turtles abound.
My favorite sight though is the family of beaver motoring out from their lodge at the edge of the lake right after sunset. This is a rare occurrence as they are nocturnal and shy, and usually do their thing in total darkness. On the days I see them I consider it a good omen for me and them a talisman; and an honor to be in their presence.
In what my wife calls the Zen moment of my day, I walk Luna, my flat coated retriever to the lake in the evenings and go to the blind. In the late winter and early spring I can count on seeing a formation of 18 to 22 migratory geese land in perfect formation on the lake at precisely sunset, usually in 2 groups. We have a pair of blue heron that regularly hunt there as well as numerous bird species I cannot name. Turtles abound.
My favorite sight though is the family of beaver motoring out from their lodge at the edge of the lake right after sunset. This is a rare occurrence as they are nocturnal and shy, and usually do their thing in total darkness. On the days I see them I consider it a good omen for me and them a talisman; and an honor to be in their presence.
7
A couple of the best hunters that I know have told me that they are sure that animals get the same sense of being watched as we do. Hard to prove, I know. But you know the feeling when you get it.
1
I have to come back to this! the 'hides' are to protect the animals and birds NOT THE HUMANS despite 'us' finding them cozy. England does not have vast swathes of wild land...these hides are typically on fiercely fought for protected land areas for migratory birds...the hides minimise disturbing those passing through, or those who stay. I mentioned the RPSB who purchase, manage and protect vast areas of land (and thus the birds and animals) and these hides are so that we can watch, and not interrupt the flow of wild lives. Google them to appreciate how active they are. Tramping across these sanctuaries would destroy the habitat, we're lucky we are offered this opportunity to stand and watch. phew.
6
Sentimental writing - yet a hide is unnecessary for many animals. What is necessary is to hide your intention, your mental presence, from them and to do that you must look like the space around you - or something totally out of context that they do not fear, be still and quiet both inside your mind and outside with your body, and be in the right place. Otters will surface right next to a kayak to check it out - but beware, they have some fearsome choppers. Camouflage clothing and sent free soap and shampoo, done correctly, in combination with staying downwind and being still, will allow for closer contact - a fox at 3 feet trying to figure out what the heck you are, or an ermine, standing on your boot to use it as a lookout perch. Be still and animals come to you. I fell asleep once in full camouflage only to awaken with a start with two cow elk gently sniffing my head - their question: what the heck IS this funny looking thing? The interaction ended less gracefully than it began....
6
The survival of wild animals depends on human observers been as unobtrusive as possible. We sighted a gaunt-looking lioness stalking a herd of impala from a stony outcrop in Kruger National Park in South Africa. Lions only hunt in the daylight when they are extremely hungry. The lioness’ location was radioed through by our ranger to other safari jeeps in our vincinity. A large convoy of excited spectators soon made their noisy way down the road, thereby blocking the lioness’ direct access to the herd of impala grazing across the road. The lioness disappeared from view, and its herd of intended prey scattered soon after. The lioness (and its cubs) faced potential starvation in serving our urgent need to see them in the wild. They are frequently stressed by human presence and waste critical energy reserves evading us.
15
In many places the hides offer people protection from weather...and make the whole experience of watching possible! I sat for hours in a hide on the fens outside Cambridge - it was set high on a bank and the pleasure of it was being able to watch without being beaten back to the car by the cold. What did we see? Apart from a bustard that nearly flew into the glass viewing window the most interesting critters were the cows. Oh, and we had no cameras. PS In England the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) is one of the strongest charitable organisations...and lobby groups.
4
Oh, I'm so glad I saw this! It reminds me that I still need to buy "H is for Hawk." :)
5
i revel in sharing my unmown lawn each summer with hungry new goslings, their parents and cousins carefully eyeing me, as i sit on my doorstep, still and silent yet trusted enough to be as close as a yardstick length. nature has learned to hide from humanity, as predators and prey across most species must. as we civilize ourselves with our exclusive, proper behavior, we become less approachable to those who need no civility, only life and being.
8
Lovely piece. But one does not need a "hide" to get close to nature. It's easier to let nature get close to you. All it takes is a home on a bit of land that we're the legal caretaker of. Instead of mowing, chopping, spraying, "managing," .... let the land--be. Tolerate (or better yet, learn to enjoy) "weeds and bugs." Put out bird feeders and water sources (doesn't have to be fancy, a few large pot saucers will do, an up ended plastic garbage can lid--empty and refill water sources regularly to discourage mosquitoes). Sit back and watch the landscape around you grow in beauty and complexity every year. Because you're part of the place, the animals that move in will accept you as inhabitant rather than invader. Next thing you know, you're watching wildlife in your own back yard--and the wild things have been able to reclaim a patch of the earth, so much of which we've taken from them.
17
We did this in our suburban NYC home when our daughters were growing up. It was wonderful: deer, snakes, chipmunks, woodchucks, rabbits, frogs, bats by the dozens, bluebirds, woodpeckers, hawks, turkey buzzards, wild turkeys -- all walked, slithered, hopped or flew across our small bit of earth.
4
Then what? Does the human visitor to the greater world then leave the hide to go out and fight for the welfare of the other creatures? And if not, how can the human visitor live with him or herself?
6
Great piece, thanks so much.
7
A recent visit to the Serengeti attests to the fact that animals do become acclimated to people or in this case vehicles. Several times we happened on a pride of lions sleeping under a tree and stopped our vehicle within a few yards of them and they barely lifted their heads to spare us a glance. Or some cheetahs with a kill were not at all disturbed by the presence of a number of vehicles on the nearby road. It's part of life there.
4
Interesting and expressive piece - but in American preserves one is hard pressed to find a bench, let alone a hide.
3
My wife commutes 1-1.5 hours to work in the city so that she may return at night to our home in the woods, which is essentially a comfortable hide. It is the only setting where we truly understand our place in the natural world.
11
I came to loath my little log cabin and my huts except for lighting wood stove /stone stove with the frigid outside and a place to keep wood dry and of course the fire rituals sent out with the great dragon carrying the message world wide, jealous,angry, stubborn with nose high in the air from my chosen position to do the ritual while he was made imy messenger always with a chain around the neck but some times the chain was too long
peaking into secrets none of his business
" I grow into the mountains like moss. I am bewitched"
"there was the small matter of the snow leopard, whose terrible beauty is the very stuff of human longing. Its uncompromising yellow eyes, wired into the depths of its unfathomable spirit, gaze out from the cover of innumerable editions. It is, I think, the animal I would most like to be eaten by.”
― Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard
peaking into secrets none of his business
" I grow into the mountains like moss. I am bewitched"
"there was the small matter of the snow leopard, whose terrible beauty is the very stuff of human longing. Its uncompromising yellow eyes, wired into the depths of its unfathomable spirit, gaze out from the cover of innumerable editions. It is, I think, the animal I would most like to be eaten by.”
― Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard
3
Thank you for your beautiful writing - and consider that sometimes people hiking here in the Southwest have turned to see mountain lions tracks behind them and not sign of the cat, who clearly didn't need a hide.
6
This is a sublime piece of writing which transports the reader to an idyllic preserve, a natural shrine for the silence-seeker.
Rather than wistful thinking, living in harmony with nature is akin to the human condition.
I live close to the forest.This is my home, my refuge, my temple.
We also have a hide here, one which resembles an observation tower.
It is a spot where both hunters and silent worshippers like me can melt into the fabric of nature.
As I venture into the magic forest, I often feel as if the creatures themselves were directing their curious gaze at me. What brings us apart is just a matter of space for their hide has no boundaries, the epitome of freedom.
Nature inspires. As we build our own cages, it shatters down walls.
As we destroy, it creates. Diligent, tireless it moves on gently, spreading its magic blanket over blades of grass and barren earth alike.
Rather than wistful thinking, living in harmony with nature is akin to the human condition.
I live close to the forest.This is my home, my refuge, my temple.
We also have a hide here, one which resembles an observation tower.
It is a spot where both hunters and silent worshippers like me can melt into the fabric of nature.
As I venture into the magic forest, I often feel as if the creatures themselves were directing their curious gaze at me. What brings us apart is just a matter of space for their hide has no boundaries, the epitome of freedom.
Nature inspires. As we build our own cages, it shatters down walls.
As we destroy, it creates. Diligent, tireless it moves on gently, spreading its magic blanket over blades of grass and barren earth alike.
6
The photographers were probably using high-zoom lenses because they were the only ones they brought, not expecting to see wildlife up close.
This is a bit too rarefied. You use a hide because you don't have the bushcraft to get close to the animals you want to see or . . . you've grown really tired of ants in your pants and returning home mildewed and miserably cold. The rest is just the logical extension of ever-more remotely interested people finding an easy way to watch an egret.
3
Must be a British thing. We observe birds and other wildlife out in their habitats all the time. No one hides, and we get great photos.
2
Another odd little boxed-in variant of human social behavior displayed as they pursue their avocations... Watching and photographing (and avoiding each other) all seem harmless enough, no matter what the original purpose of a hide.. As for me, I would prefer seeing the otters in the stream, and I admit I would probably attempt to take the best picture I could of these charming creatures... Mea culpa, mea culpa
Like any meditation time, sit still, stay quiet, and you won't even need a hide to observe nature. I've read that when military commandos are inserted into a danger zone, they stay still for many minutes, until the environment returns to it's normal activities.
3
I still think one sees more sans camera/binoculars & in the habitat of the creature one is observing, as well as being in a place where the sights, sounds & wind can wash over you.