Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Describe possible negative consequences for people and wildlife under conditions of crowding.
2. Identify ways people can behave in order to reduce negative consequences of crowding for wildlife.

Method

Students experiment with physical distance and levels of comfort in humans, estimate appropriate distances between humans and wildlife under various conditions.hypothesize about indicators of animal discomfort, and summarize reasons to avoid animal discomfort through crowding.

Teacher Planning

Subjects: Science, Social Studies, Language Arts
Skills: hypothesis-formation, inference
Duration: ten to 30-minute class period, depending on age of students
Group size: any
Setting: indoors or outdoors
Conceptual Framework Reference: ID., VIA.. Vl.A.2. Vl.A.3.. Vl.A.4., VI.A.5., VI.B., Vl1., Vl.B.2.. Vl.B.3., Vl.B.4., Vl.B.5.. VI.C.. VI CI.,VIC.2., Vl.C.5., VI.C.16.. VID., VID.1., VlI.A., Vll.A.l., Vll.A.2.. Vll.A.3,. Vll.A.4.. VII.B., VIl.B.l., VILB.2., VILB.3.. VIl,B7.
Key Vocabulary:crowding, disturbance, safety, behavior
Materials: none needed

Background

Sometimes wildlife seems to want to say, Don’t get too close! From a tree branch a bird watches a per son approaching; when he or she gets too close, the bird takes flight.
Animals are often threatened when crowded by humans, even though the humans may mean no harm and merely want to observe the animal. Animals may display their discomfort by fleeing, grinding teeth, coiling, hissing, stomping feet, snarling, coughing, or woofing. Flight is the usual way of showing stress. Noises may come when an animal is ready or threatening to attack.

Wildlife photographers have learned that when the wildlife they are photographing begins to act strangely, they have probably gotten too close. Animals may run away if you are outside a certain distance. At a closer distance, they may charge or in other ways respond to the threat of human presence by aggressive behavior.

One way of understanding the way wildlife acts, is to recognize that many animals have certain distances that they keep from their own kind. Wolves may demand large areas of range which no other wolf outside of their own pack (family) may enter. Studies show that certain kinds of finches will always leave a certain distance between themselves when they perch on a telephone wire or fence line. When crowding occurs, many animals react with bizarre, aggressive, disordered behavior, and may develop skin diseases like mange. They may adjust to the crowded conditions, over time, by ceasing reproduction.

In the United States, great blue heron rookeries have been disturbed by the mere presence of people. Rookeries are the birds’ breeding grounds. Herons live most of the year as lone individuals; when they come together to breed— to go through courtship and nesting—they experience stress, if disturbed by humans. Under circumstances of stress, they may not breed, may lay few eggs, or may abandon the rookery, leaving eggs or young birds to perish.  At a heron rookery in Colorado, wildlife managers have established a 1000 foot limit; no human disturbance is allowed close to the rookery. They are not sure this limit will save the rookery from development pressures, but they know any closer range would certainly disrupt the rookery. The major purpose of this activity is for students to recognize the possible negative consequences for people and wildlife as a result of conditions of crowding.

Activities

1. Introduce the concept of discomfort from crowding by asking one student to stand in front of the class. Approach the student slowly, asking the student to tell you when your closeness makes him or her begin to feel uncomfortable. Ask the class whether they allow strangers to approach them as close as they do their friends or family. How do they feel in the middle of strangers on a crowded bus or elevator? Discuss what physical reactions they have in some kinds of crowded conditions, like avoidance of eye con tact, nervousness, sweaty palms, etc.
2. Introduce the idea that animals in the wild might also be uncomfortable when approached by strangers. Talk about why they might be uncomfortable; e.g., fear of predation, need to protect young. Discuss what other conditions might increase or decrease wariness-such as ability to fly away, climb quickly, run fast, swim fast; animal size; whether the animal is alone or with a group, is on a nest, or has young.
3. Have the students make a list of animals they are likely to encounter in the environment, and have them estimate what distance should be maintained from each animal species-both for reasons of personal safety, and for the comfort and safety of the animal. Emphasize that these are just estimates. As a rule, it is better to stay farther away than you think might be necessary than to get too close.
4. Have the students hypothesize about animal behaviors which might indicate discomfort, such as foot stomping, teeth grinding, raising up on hind feet, nervous looking around and eventually flight. Optional: Students can mime or role play such situations, and have their classmates guess what animal they are, in what situation.
5. Discuss ways in which wildlife harassment might occur unintentionally, such as flying too close in small airplanes, getting too close to photograph, calling or heckling for animals to react (especially at zoos), hiking near a nesting site, and using loud vehicles near baby animals, or in places where animals are unaccustomed to seeing them. Explain the possibility that there are certain times of the year when some animals are more sensitive to intrusion, such as at mating season, and during severe climatic conditions, such as heavy winters or drought. What ways can communities minimize disturbances? What can individual people do? Summarize reasons it is important to minimize such disturbance from people for wildlife.

Extensions

1. Draw life-sized outlines of some of the animals and mount them on an outside wall of the school building. Break into small groups; have each group establish a distance from each species which the group feels would be far enough for the animal not to be threatened by the pressure of a person. Using measuring tapes, each group should measure the established comfort zone" for each species, under different conditions- and then present their suggested distances for the animal comfort zones. Verify the accuracy of these distances under these general conditions by contacting a wildlife resource person. Discuss whether a general rule is apparent about the relationship of the size of the comfort zone to conditions such as size of the animal, presence of young, ability to flee, single or group animal species. etc.
2. What are reasons it is important to minimize such disturbances for domesticated animals, like pets, dairy cows, etc.?
3. What are reasons it is important to minimize such disturbances for people? What actions can we take to do so, with what consequences?

Evaluation

What behaviors might indicate a person speaking in front of a group is nervous?
How might a mother dog let you know that you are getting too close to her and her pups?
Rank order the following, from animals you could get closest to without harming to those you should stay the furthest away from: a heron rookery during breeding season, young raccoons seen in a forest, a large garter snake in the grass of your yard, honey bees around their hives, frogs in a freshwater pond in the summer.
Describe negative results of crowding for humans. Describe negative results of crowding for animals.