Would you risk your life for wildlife?

[TheSeagull]

Let's say you were faced with the scenario of risking your life for a wild animal, it can be poachers in Africa, rebels in the Congo, even cars in Britain. What would you do? Would you just admit defeat and run or would you try and help the animal? Personally if I were on the roads in Britain I would definitely put on my brakes. If I were outnumbered by dangerous armed people I would probably run, I would try my luck if I were in a group of people or there was only one dangerous armed person though.

[TeresaW]

I'd like to say I'd risk my life in any scenario mentioned above, but there's no telling what you would do unless you actually find yourself in any of those situations. After all, the strength of our own inbuild survival instinct would probably take over if a situation became too dangerous. Not many people are completely foolhardy

[PMG]

The simple answer is yes and I have in the past on sev occasions tho as Teresa says each scenario is different and you don't know until you're faced with it. I have to say tho it only takes one armed dangerous person to kill you and I have faced people with guns at work - which is a bit different - there is a shred of authority there - I don't know that I would do it again now that I am older and not in a working position.

I regularly move things out of the road but the nearest I've got on a motorway was following a horse box that lost control, jack-knifed with the box getting seperated from the car and came to a spinning halt in the fast lane with two horses in it I ran back up the hard should waving my arms and trying to get folks to slow down! No-one plunged into the box and the horses were rescued. I did inform the police tho and the person towing the box was stopped further up the motorway but I don't know what the result of that was.

We often move toads and caterpillers - it can be tedious sometimes keep getting out of the car but I've always done it and my concience wouldn't let me drive on .........

I'm very aware when travelling esp at dawn and dusk and I go much slower at night always expecting something to run out ......... to date I know I;ve killed a toad, a rabbit, a blackbird and a whitethroat freshly arrived from Africa in spring which upset me very much - it flew over a hedge in Anglesey and smack into my windscreen - not a thing I could do about it - same with the blackbird on the M6.

Pauline

[TeresaW]

That's the difference though Pauline. If you were facing armed people at work then you were obviously trained for it, whereas I'm not and would probably run a mile if I could get away with it.

As for wildlife, again I'd like to say I'd risk my life, even on a motorway, to try to save something, but only if it doesn't also increase the risk to others. We can't have it all ways, more's the pity. However, I'll always try to help a creature (or even a plant, as with the early marsh orchid growing on a grass verge about to be mowed). I hate even disturbing things, hence my question on disturbing fungi on another thread. I prefer to see things in situ, doing what they are supposed to be doing.

Fortunately I've not been in a vehicle which has been involved in anything serious to wildlife often. One rabbit, a house sparrow and a few pheasants between Thetford and Bury St Edmunds. Anyone who has been on that road will know what it's like, they are suicidal birds there.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by TeresaW

That's the difference though Pauline. If you were facing armed people at work then you were obviously trained for it, whereas I'm not and would probably run a mile if I could get away with it.

As for wildlife, again I'd like to say I'd risk my life, even on a motorway, to try to save something, but only if it doesn't also increase the risk to others. We can't have it all ways, more's the pity. However, I'll always try to help a creature (or even a plant, as with the early marsh orchid growing on a grass verge about to be mowed). I hate even disturbing things, hence my question on disturbing fungi on another thread. I prefer to see things in situ, doing what they are supposed to be doing.

Fortunately I've not been in a vehicle which has been involved in anything serious to wildlife often. One rabbit, a house sparrow and a few pheasants between Thetford and Bury St Edmunds. Anyone who has been on that road will know what it's like, they are suicidal birds there.

You should run a mile - and so should I these days except I can't run anymore even if my life depended on it

To be serious its more helpful in the long run if you stay alive another day to help something else than get hurt or die or kill someone else - but in the heat of an incident you never know what will happen or who will do what for good or bad ..........

[Susie]

Once upon a time I would have said yes, but now it is a definite no. I wouldn't risk my life for anyone or anything other than my family (and probably then only my kids).

[Amoeba]

Faced with mortal danger, humans are merely animals themselves with an instinct to survive. I'd say no, I would not put my life on the line for an animal if I assessed the risk was too great just the same as for a human.

In many cases, there are always people better trained than myself to help the trapped or injured. They may not always be around or close by however, in which case I would assess whether or not it would be a help or a hindrance to step in. In some cases, it's just better to leave well alone and wait for trained personnel to do their work else perhaps cause more damage yourself than good. I think intuition will tell you whether you can help or not.

It is frustrating to see the destruction of wildlife where there is no help though, but it's the same case - I can't step in if the risk is too great. I wouldn't go out and stop chavs from chopping down the trees like they do around here because they'd probably take their saw and use it on me. What use would I be to the world if I'm permanently disabled from having my tendons cut... or at worst dead? Calling the police is about as much as I can do, unfortunately they don't always respond.

I don't really see anything valiant or brave about risking one's life for wildlife, or anyone else for that matter, when it is clearly beyond your means (for example, storming at the group of armed chavs arms flailing and placing yourself between them and the tree is a recipe for homicide or at best assault). It's better to bide your time until you are trained in a position of power to be able to help, rather than help when you're unable to and lose this one chance at life.

[Markulous]

I once had a lift with a guy who'd tried to avoid a squirrel on the highway. When he left hospital having rolled the car and broken a number of bones he decided that next time the squirrel would have to take it's chances. I subscribe to this philosophy - I'll help where I can but no way would I put my (or anyone else's) life at risk.

[hammock monkey]

As a young lad I used to go after poachers traps, which was very scary when we were chased a couple of times.
We still went back and looked for more, thinking about it now I doubt the paocher would have done anything to us but it was pretty nerve-racking at times!

Nowadays I would risk it if an animal was in distress, but a calculated risk that i was confident about - otherwise no I'm afraid.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by hammock monkey

Nowadays I would risk it if an animal was in distress, but a calculated risk that i was confident about - otherwise no I'm afraid.

i agree with hammock monkey i'd take a calculated risk but not a fool hardy one - in my younger days as a warden ive been both threatened and shot at by badger diggers - but as a married man with responsibilities other than myself i would now be more circumspect

[teknomage]

I would probably take a calculated risk. The question brought to mind some horrible footage I saw last year on TV. CCTV cameras had caught a group of three youths kicking a seagull to death. It was absolutely sickening. I know that had I been there I would certainly have tried to intervene.

I don't drive, but my partner of over 35 years does. In all the time I have known him, he has actively avoided hitting any animals that run out in front of the car - even as a young driver he would stop rather than run over a mouse. His attitute is that ok, this time it was only a mouse/rabbit/fox whatever, the next time it could be a child. In all that time the only accident he's ever had was when a van went into the back of our car when we were stopped at traffic lights!

Sadly, we've had two bird fatalities recently. One was a chaffinch that flew out a hedgerow straight into the side of the moving car. The other was a suicidal pheasant than ran from cover straight under the front wheel as we were turning onto a roundabout. Animals in front of the car can be avoided, but there's nothing you can do when the creature actively runs into the side of you.

tekno.mage