Wildlife

A fed animal is usually a dead animal. Most wildlife encounters go bad because a human made the animal comfortable around people first — through food, trash, or a too-close photo.

  1. Never feed wildlife, intentionally or by accident. Secure food, trash, and anything scented — coolers included.
  2. Make noise on the trail in bear or big-cat country. Surprise is what triggers a defensive reaction.
  3. Know your species. Bear spray, playing dead, or standing your ground are different answers for different animals — learn which applies where you recreate.
  4. Keep dogs leashed. An off-leash dog is the single most common trigger for a moose or bear charge.
  5. Give animals a real exit route. Never corner wildlife for a photo, and never approach young animals — a parent is almost always closer than it looks.
  6. Snakes: watch your hands and feet, not just the trail ahead. Most bites happen when a hand or foot lands somewhere it couldn't see first.

How Far Is Far Enough

Rule of thumb from the National Park Service: if an animal changes its behavior because of you — stops eating, lifts its head, moves away — you're already too close, regardless of the distances below.

  • Bears, wolves, and mountain lions: at least 100 yards (300 feet) — roughly the length of a football field. See Bear Safety for a full species-by-species response guide.
  • Moose, elk, bison, bighorn sheep and other large hoofed animals: at least 25 yards (75 feet). Moose and bison charge more often than bears and give little warning. See Bison & Buffalo Safety.
  • Any animal with young nearby: double whatever distance you'd normally keep. A parent is almost always closer than it looks.
  • Snakes: a snake can strike roughly half its body length — give any snake you can't identify at least 6 feet, and never handle one to move it.
  • Alligators: at least 30 feet, and always out of the water they're in.
  • Insects, spiders, and scorpions don't have a "safe distance" so much as a "watch where your hands and feet go." See Insects & Arachnids.

Use a zoom lens, not your feet, to get a closer photo.

Relevant Terrain

Relevant Months

Species Guides