How To Safely Watch Wildlife With Your Children

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How To Safely Watch Wildlife With Your Children

Traveling with young children may seem like a challenge for some households, but taking your entire brood on a vacation has many benefits for your child’s development and your relationship as a family. A survey of 1,000 parents with kids age 5 to 17 found that 97% of parents say that their children have gotten to know new things about them during their trip. Moreover, the poll found that the whole family tends to be more excited and affectionate while on vacation. If you’re looking for new ways to travel as a family this year, you might want to try going on a wildlife watching holiday.

Seeing animals in their natural habitat is a great way to get the kids outdoors. Moreover, seeing different animal and bird species teaches your child about nature and how to care for and respect animal life. As with any family trip, safety is essential, especially if you’re spending time out in the woods and just a few meters away from wild animals. Follow these tips to have an enjoyable and safe wildlife viewing vacation with your kids.

Keep your distance

If you’re going on a guided wildlife viewing tour, it’s important to keep a good distance from wild animals to stay safe and give the animals room to move. A rule of thumb to follow is if you’re close enough to take a clear selfie with a deer or a wolf, then you’re definitely too close to the animals. Keep your family at least 100 yards away from wild animals such as wolves and bears. To enhance your wildlife viewing experience, bring several pairs of binoculars or a hunting rangefinder for a close-up view of animals. Some rangefinders can even range through obstacles such as bushes, which makes them useful when you’re seeing wildlife in their natural habitat. You can get one for every member of the family as there are some high-performing rangefinders on the market at low prices.

Stay quiet

Loud noises or quick movements can make wildlife run or fly off. Teach your kids to use quiet voices and to not make any sudden movements. To help your child view wildlife without scaring off the animals, kneel alongside the child as you find the animal with your binoculars or rangefinder and invite him or her to look through the device.

Blend in and pack well

Wear earth tone colors like olive green, brown, and khaki to blend into the surroundings. You can wear sunblock and insect repellent, but make sure to use the unscented kind. You can also take some bottled water and a few portable and non-perishable snacks, but don’t eat while viewing wildlife. It’s also a good idea to take along a first aid kit and a GPS device if you’re watching wildlife in an unfamiliar place.

Don’t feed the animals

Remind your children never to feed the animals no matter how cute and non-threatening they look. Feeding wildlife in parks can make them come looking for more food, and once animals learn that people are a source of food, they can become aggressive and may put you at risk of injury.

Follow these tips to have a great time viewing wildlife with your family. Remember to treat animals with respect and to exercise caution to keep you and your kids safe.

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