Protecting Wildlife

When I finished writing the previous posting, I could not immediately upload it as my Broadband connection was down. Not really a problem as I was heading out into the woods. I wanted to try and film the Otters. I knew that they were active at a particular spot and I knew from other peoples sightings that they were active at this location during a particular period. The only difficulty was that with the river running high, the particular jumble of rocks was under water.

I waited and remained vigilant, but while I may have heard them passing, I did not see them. So I headed back to the village. I wanted to get some more milk for a cup of tea or some coco. This I got and I decided to stop off for a pint or two of ale.

Now when I went into the pub, there was a chap who made some derisory comment about the way I was dressed. I ignored it and anyway he was also wearing a camouflage jacket, so pot calling the kettle black was my attitude.

Later one of the other blokes asked me what I had been doing, I was happy to tell him. The man that had made the derogatory comment just asked me directly where the otters were. I refused to tell him. That made him say that I was just an incomer and what did I know. He also said that he knew where all the deer are, where the otters are, and all the rest of the wildlife in the woods.
I refused to get into an argument and he ended up by swearing at me. Now as my regular reader knows I have had difficulties with others in the village who claim to know about the natural history but in reality they are just full of BS. Or worse they may even have ill intent towards the wildlife.

While I would love to tell everyone where the wildlife is, not everyone is able to see an animal. I have seen people disturbing the very creature they are hoping to see. Now while I have no reason to assume that this man wanted to do any harm, but once bitten (and not by spiders) twice shy. Should someone display by their actions that they are genuinely respectful of an animal then I would share information regarding locations, but in a pub where someone has been rude from the start, well that's no way of winning my trust.

While I have never claimed to know where everything is in the woods or the surrounding countryside, there are many people in the village that think they really know the woods. Yet thus far everyone of them that claim to know the woods well just do not in reality. I suspect that they are just jealous that I have seen wildlife that they have never seen nor would they have any hope of seeing.

It does upset me when I have these sorts of confrontations, but had this chap had a better attitude I may have been willing to tell him. Apart from anything else, I can learn so much from genuine people that have a real knowledge of the local environs. I do inform people I know I can trust of where I have made sightings, but there are poachers in and around the woods. Also Badger Bating and digging still goes on and I have no doubt that there are egg collectors that would illegally take the eggs of the Red Kites if they were able. So while I would love to share the details of the locations where I see wildlife, I would rather suffer the insults than see the wildlife disturbed or destroyed.