I am currently reading this book about the five large carnivores of Scandinavia and I am absolutely humbled, both by finding out how little I knew about them, what prejudice I had against them and how people that live in close proximity to them can both love, respect and be angry with them at the same time. I am reading the original release in Swedish.
- What have you encountered in the wild?
- When, where, how?
- What were your initial thoughts, feelings and reactions (physical, psychological, etc.)?
- What do think of them in general? <— this last question applies to everybody, regardless of whether you have seen or met one of these large carnivores or not.
Personally, without having met any one of them, I am humbled, scared, amazed and intrigued by them. I feel for those whose - for instance - livestock are threatened by them, especially if it directly damages business. I also strongly believe that the matter should not be dumbed down to the dichotmy of “ignore those that suffer from them” or “eradicate them”. We are far too intelligent and developed a race to degrade ourselves so.
I’ve run into coyotes, if that counts. You hear them constantly, but they’re shy, so when you do see them up close it’s kinda cool. When it’s happened with other people they’ve been freaked out, but coyotes just don’t attack adult humans. They’re really wired to eat ground squirrels (aka “gophers”) and rabbits; small things.
I’ve been through grizzly bear habitat, but not enough to have one show itself. If it did, I’d probably just mind my business and give it a wide berth. I did know a guy who got eaten, but that’s so rare it doesn’t really change my mind. They’re alright.
Honourable mention for moose, which are pretty aggressive, are fucking huge and do scare me. Like, I’m still fine with them as a concept, and seeing a wild animal that big is amazing if you’re in a safe place, but if something’s going to happen to me, it’s either a human or a moose.
I’d also be more worried about crossing paths with a moose than any predator (other than a polar bear), they’ll stomp you to death for existing too close and can’t be reasoned with.