Travel
Camping

HOW TO KEEP THE ANIMALS AWAY
WHEN YOU ARE CAMPING
Feeding wild animals while you are on vacation can be a life
threatening- if not dangerous thing to do. Sometimes it
happens by accident- campers forget to put their goods away. But
if you are careful, you can protect yourself and your other
campers from a potentially dangerous situation.
HELPFUL HINTS:
- PUT YOUR FOOD PACKS WELL
AWAY FROM YOUR CAMPING AREA -
Put your food items away from hiking paths, game paths
and human traffic. Keep your food
in plastic zip lock type baggies. By doing this the scent
of your food does not attract
the animals.
- TRY HANGING YOUR FOOD
PACKS IN TREES - When you do this you make it
difficult for the
critters to reach your food supply. Hang the food
packs at least 12 feet above the
ground, 5 feet below a branch and 10 feet from the
nearest trunk.
- ALTERNATE YOUR HIDING
PLACE- Don't hide food in the same place. Animals
are creatures
of habit and once they learn where you hide your food,
they will be back to look for more!
Try to alternate the tree you hang your food in and don't
use the same tree other campers
have already used.
- IS UNDER A CANOE A GOOD
PLACE? - Hungry bears will break or
bite a hole into a canoe to
get at your food supply. Also, piling pots on the
top of your canoe will not help. Animals
accustomed to people won't be intimidated by the sound of
falling pots. But you will
find out later that they have been there!
- FOOD IN YOUR TENT? - Not
a good idea. This includes snacks as well as
meals. A bear will
tear your tent apart to get at your food, even if it only
a few leftover crumbs. Even the
scent of toothpaste or gum can attract wild animals.
- KEEPING YOUR CAMP CLEAN - This
is the best way to prevent an unwelcome visitor.
Pack
up or burn all leftover food. If this is not
practical, bury your food waste 150 feet
or more from any camp or water. Most wild critters
won't enter a camp that doesn't
offer them sonething to eat.
- IN THE END REMEMBER
- If an animal cannot smell or see your
food, they probably won't get it. Keeping your camp
free of uninvited visitors is as simple as that!
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