Jaree wrote:
"Stay more than 25 yards (23 m) away from all large animals " should be revised to "Stay more than 300 yards (275 m) away from all large animals, use a telephoto or binoculars and be within 50 yards of your vehicle". Obviously there are people who think they can outrun this rather pleasant beast at 25 yards.
Certainly for people who aren’t used to being around wild critters, that’s good advice. (I might shorten those distances a bit, depending on the situation.)
I once watch a complete fool in Florida walk up to an alligator at the edge of a pond in Florida. The thing was roused and it flipped around and chased him. He barely made it back into the bus he had jumped out of. (The driver was royally pissed at the guy.)
I learned the lesson when I was quite young — perhaps middle school age. My parents had stopped along a road in Yosemite along with a bunch of other people to “watch the bear.” As the ignorant, naive kid that I was, I opened the side door of the family van and stepped out to make a picture. The bear immediately charged and I think I re-entered the van in one giant leap at about 50 mpg, slamming the doors behind me.
A few years back, I was photographing in snowy conditions in Yosemite Valley, with my tripod set up on a bridge. I was focused on the subject and the shot and my gear hen I caught a shadow out of the corner of my eye. A bobcat had run right past me on the bridge — I had not even seen it coming.
