Why must you learn to recognize key characteristics of the animal you’re hunting

Millions of people are engaged in hunting in different countries. At the same time, not everyone knows how to hold such an event in accordance with generally accepted rules. The consequence of this is a huge harm to nature and many species are on the verge of extinction. To prevent various negative moments, one should respect living beings and carefully prepare for each hunt. Preparation consists of studying animals, their way of life, the nuances of behavior. This approach will help to quickly identify the animal and eliminate the likelihood of the destruction of rare individuals.

Why must you learn to recognize key characteristics of the animal you’re hunting

For many, hunting is just a trip into the forest with a weapon in order to shoot its wild inhabitants. However, it is a whole art, the wisdom of which takes decades to comprehend. Only by studying the nuances and carefully preparing for the process, you will be able to experience maximum pleasure and not harm one or another representative of the fauna.

Going into the forest with a gun, carefully study the main features of the living creatures you are going to shoot at, their habitat, daily diet, and much more. This approach will allow you to qualitatively study a particular species, which will make it possible to kill certain individuals and not have a negative impact on the entire population. This will help preserve the natural balance and reduce the negative human impact on the environment.

Hunters identify 5 main characteristics of living beings that must be taken into account before going hunting:

1. Form. There are thousands of species of living beings on our planet. Many of them have a unique body shape, which has become such as a result of evolution and has been due to many different factors. Exclusively by this criterion, it is possible to determine the belonging of an animal to a particular species only in the event of obvious inconsistencies with the standards. A good example of this is that giraffes have an elongated neck, deer have large horns, elephants have a massive body, seals have flipper-like paws. There are a lot of such comparisons, so before hunting, carefully study this characteristic of the representative of the fauna of interest.
2. Dimensions. One of the main criteria for determining living beings is their size. For hunting, they choose mainly large animals, which are easy to shoot even from a long distance. Among the most famous targets are bears, wild boars and various artiodactyls. Medium-sized animals include foxes, wolves, hares and other similar creatures. Some hunters like to shoot smaller game as well. It includes squirrels, martens, small birds.
3. Produced sounds. An important characteristic of any living being is its voice. Even “close relatives” among the representatives of the fauna can make radically different sounds, correctly identifying which, the hunter will quickly determine the type of approaching creature. Large individuals often have the loudest voice. Thanks to this, the shooters can find their location in a couple of seconds and save enough time to prepare for the shot. Smaller inhabitants of the forest make mostly quiet or completely inaudible sounds to humans. Finding such inhabitants, especially in dense thickets, will be quite problematic. In addition, among the animals there are dumb individuals. To identify them, one has to pay attention to other criteria.
4. Movement around the area. Professionals in their field easily determine the belonging of an animal to a particular species by the ghost hunting camera of the movement. To do this, it is enough for them to notice potential prey and follow its movement. To identify large individuals, paw prints are often used, left by them while moving on snow, sand or wet soil. Similarly, it is possible to distinguish between smaller creatures, but finding their traces is quite problematic even for an experienced specialist. It is difficult to recognize small animals by this characteristic. The only chance for this will be only if you are at a short distance from the target.
5. Nuances of behavior. Different species behave differently. This is actively used by experienced hunters to determine a particular species. Often, for recognition, the preferences of living beings to get food are taken into account. Some like to do it alone, others like to do it in flocks of 2-3 individuals, and still others like to do it in whole herds, numbering hundreds or thousands of females and males. In addition, food preferences of one kind or another are used for recognition. Predators eat only meat, herbivores – plants. There are also animals that equally actively feed on plant and animal food (for example, bears). Among the nuances of behavior, it is worth highlighting the period of activity. Individuals of one species prefer morning hours, another – daytime, the third – evening, and the fourth – night. Even for identification, they use methods of arranging shelters for animals to rest, creating stocks for the winter, and breeding offspring.

All of these parameters help beginners and experts to correctly determine the type of living beings. In this case, mistakes should not be made, as they will lead to a huge number of negative consequences for wildlife and humans.

Consequences of misidentification:

1. Large fines. In many countries of the world, the process of hunting is strictly regulated. In this regard, during a certain period of the year, people are forbidden to kill certain creatures. Due to the inability to correctly determine the type of animal, the hunter runs the risk of accidentally shooting an individual under guard. The consequence of this will be serious problems with environmentalists and law enforcement agencies, which will require the payment of a fine.
2. Deprivation of permission to shoot. Each country has its own laws regarding the shooting of certain species. They always provide for very severe penalties for harming rare fauna or living creatures that are currently raising offspring. In this regard, due to the inability to correctly recognize the species, people lose their permission to shoot wild creatures and lose their favorite pastime for a long time.
3. Danger to life. Nature is always full of surprises. Not all of them are pleasant and often carry a danger for an amateur and a professional. One such surprise is a meeting with a potentially dangerous animal. If, according to various parameters, a person cannot determine his belonging to a particular species, then there is a possibility of ignoring the danger. This can lead to very serious consequences, due to which hundreds of people die every year.
4. Damage to the ecosystem. Any forest, steppe, field and other natural area is a whole ecosystem. It maintains a natural balance due to the presence of different types of living creatures that spread seeds, pollinate plants, destroy pests, eat grass and leaves, and prey on herbivores. Removing one of the links in the whole chain will lead to significant disturbances in the ecosystem with all the negative consequences for plants and animals. This can happen due to the inability of the hunter to correctly determine the type of living creature that he hunts. Accidental killing of predators at a time prohibited by law will lead to an increase in the herbivore population, which will kill many plants. A similar destruction of grass-loving creatures during their breeding season will lead to a decrease in the amount of food for predators, as well as the growth of weeds.

Hunting is an exciting activity that is popular in dozens of countries around the world. It allows you to closely communicate with wildlife and get great pleasure from this process. Despite the availability of all living things, it is important to treat them with respect. Only in this case will it be possible to avoid an imbalance in nature and protect the environment from the harmful effects of man.