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 seen a black bear- I was in a vehicle and so I was pretty safe, but he was close up. I was driving through a curvy mountain road in Appalachia, and the dude was just vibing off the side of the road.
I’ve seen multiple Lynxes, usually from a distance. I saw one just crossing the road, the other was on the other side of a lake from me just drinking.
My thoughts were mostly just, “damn, that’s cool. Don’t usually see those.” I was always safe, and I don’t have any livestock for them to bother. They can mind their business and I’ll mind mine past the occasional glimpse.