Encountering and dealing with unfriendly people while iNatting

I know it’s not the answer you might want, but if people are regularly asking you to take photos of their dogs then maybe it’s an opportunity to make some $$ :D

I just can’t, it’s 200-500, I need to go away for like 10 metres to even start. Once I was asked to help dog actor to prepare for filming in a movie where he played shot dog. It was one of good situations.) Oh, and on vacation it’s every day, I even was asked if I was a party photographer once. (While I was photographing a beetle on the ground)

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I know it’s tough right now as your emotions are so raw, but do try to keep in mind that most people are fine. I have to keep reminding myself of that, partly because I live so close to the US. Every time I despair about that country, I think about the people I interact with on a daily basis who live there. It helps counteract the negativity. I’ve also worked as a nurse, and in retail, and although the nasty interactions stick out in my mind (and there were only a few of them), I’ve met thousands of people who were just going about their own business. I also commuted for years by bike, and in NA that’s a dangerous thing to do. Yet, the nasty encounters were really few and far between. Take care of yourself.

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Please, please, please, be careful! Don’t get me wrong, they are probably well intentioned and good honest people, but the consequences of being wrong are just too great!

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Yes, I know it now, so I just mention iNat and it’s all, if they want they can leave their account to me and I can decide, I did have a very m nervous situation around ten years ago when a men was walking towards me with a bag, he had a viper in it, started talking about, wanted to push me to catch it, I refused, wanted me to call him to know what happened to it, I had to save his number but of course deleted when he went away, retrospectively it was one big red flag.

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I was once out sampling crayfish on the roadside wearing chest waders and using a dip net to collect from a roadside pool. A man from the neighboring property came up to me and accused me of wanting to take pictures of his young daughter. I can only assume he had a disturbed childhood.

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Fortunately, I’ve never had an encounter that left me feeling unsettled. But I’m a man, which I think makes me less approachable. I also tend to avoid people when I’m out in nature. I often hike off-trail, so don’t see a lot of people. And if I see/hear someone coming down a trail, I’ll just stop and stand still back in the woods. Most people will walk right by without seeing me. And if they do see me off-trail, they probably think I’m some kind of weirdo to be avoided.

If I’m asked what I’m doing, I often tell people things like “I don’t know what this plant is, so I’m taking some pictures to help me figure it out” or “I’m looking at these beetles”. Most people think that’s weird, and they just leave me alone.

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You mean take their email addy or phone number? I would feel okay with that if I was with someone else and the person did not scare me. (And, noted above, mostly, people are well meaning, just curious).

Still, it may be better to keep some distance, especially with the pandemic. Not to sound too paranoid, but extending a hand to receive a business card puts a person in grabbing distance. If you feel comfortable enough, or it seems like it will de-escalate a situation, you could ask them to say it aloud while you record it; keeping some distance away from the person.

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I guess I am lucky because I have virtually never had any weird rude encounters while I was out iNatting.

I am an older woman, if that has anything to do with anything. I am almost always by myself.

I have had many people suggest I take a picture of their dog. I either just go ahead and do that, or I explain that on iNaturalist we are not really allowed to upload pictures of pets, only wild creatures.

One time I was in a situation where it looked as if two teenage boys from a rough area had decided to take away my iPhone, so, as they approached me I just starting saying in a loud cheerful voice, what a great place this is, and how wonderful it is to visit, and asked them don’t they just love it here, and so on, and I could see they gave up and changed their minds.

People who want to commit a crime often really need to feel that the victim is scared and intimidated and therefore weak and vulnerable, so if you can avoid giving off those vibes, it really does tend to protect you.

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Likely a round-about and creepy way to try to get an email address or phone number.

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I think this is a wonderful tactic for the majority of “mildly curious to suspicious” onlookers, although probably not effective for the blatantly aggressive types mentioned in this topic.

I’m often nervous about someone thinking I’m doing something shady, so my first instinct is to feel defensive. Instead, it seems more effective to sound like someone who’s about to ask you to sign some petition, or donate to some fund, or just talk your ear off about something you don’t care about. I’ve only been approached a handful of times, and usually it’s just something like “Are you okay?” or “Did you lose something?” A couple times I had someone approach me who was actually genuinely interested and wanted to know more, and those encounters made enduring the awkward ones worthwhile.

On the other hand, overtly aggressive people are a different category, with different tactics needed to defuse or evade them. Personally I don’t think I’d be able to handle a situation like that very well, and I’d be easily discouraged by it. I’m also conscious of the fact that I’m not a likely target for harassment, and it’s infuriating that people who are (including my wife) are hindered from enjoying nature because of this.

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@fffffffff I am sorry you experienced this, and have also had similar experiences. I am a woman hiking alone, often in very remote places, so I tend to treat human encounters much as I would other large, wild mammals: with caution and a sense of perspective. If someone is seeking you out to be an A**hole when you are simply looking at birds, it’s not you, it’s them. And it really sucks to be treated this way: please don’t let other people’s bad behavior and their own issues ruin iNatting for you. It’s your right to be out in nature, and don’t accept the sexist attitude that by being alone you invite the trouble. My two cents (for what they are worth): be aware of your surroundings, avoid contact with lone humans if you can when you are out alone, and try not to take it personally if someone takes out their internal crap on you. Walk away and refocus on the reason you are out there enjoying the world.

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Thank you, I do the same when I’m going out in the woods, seems I need to be in the most cautious mode all the time!

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I really get aggravated when I hear these stories of weird encounters with men … and, yeah, they’re always men. Too many weird, aggressive guys out there who often feel like they have a license to approach and intimidate women. Obviously anyone who is out enjoying nature should be left alone but there’s always the chance you’ll run into someone who has other ideas. I’m a fairly big guy and probably look rather threatening to some people, so I’m typically left alone (and I try not to make anyone else uncomfortable by keeping my distance), but I’ve had a few run-ins with one or more guys who might have been a threat when I’ve been out alone. But it’s rare. At least my camera is big and heavy enough I could probably club someone with it if necessary.

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This exact thing happened to me while I was birding. Turns out I was right next to the guy’s house and didn’t even realize it. (It was very well hidden by trees.) I explained who I was (biology professor) and what I was doing (looking for birds), and he was fine after that. We had a friendly conversation for a few more minutes, and then he went on his way.

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Has anyone ever been angrily kicked off a piece of property by someone with no affiliation with the property? It’s happened to me three times IIRC. Some random person who doesn’t even own the land will get super angry and try to kick me out. It’s to the point now that when someone confronts me and asks who I am and why I’m on that land, I respond with “First, tell me who YOU are and why you care.” (For the record, I never trespass deliberately, but it can be easy to lose track of where you are when you’re out bushwhacking.)

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I haven’t had anyone try to kick me off public land, but I will admit I have confronted people who were tromping through protected habitat for otters in a coastal dune area and asked them to move to a nearby observation area. I have also been yelled at myself for walking through an environmentally-sensitive area while iNatting by a person protective of me disturbing/inadvertently destroying seeds of native plants. In these cases, the intent of all those doing the confronting was a good one, but was still uncomfortable on both sides: but it wasn’t about just kicking someone off land for no reason.

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I think some of this is the result of the recent emphasis on “If you see something, say something.” Let’s assume that these people in their own minds are trying to be good citizens. (Not the guy with the dog, who sounds unbalanced, but the others.) Most of you are staying pleasant and have found that talking about nature or science sends them on their way. If you look like a student, you can say you are observing nature for a course. If you look like a possible case of senile dementia (that’s me), say you are a botanist and that this Smilax rotundifolia is something special. Whatever will give them an alternate perception from what they were suspecting. If you’re not a social person, practice a canned response till it feels easy to say, and you’re set. Please don’t let any unpleasant encounters change you. We need all the iNaturalists we can get.

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Oh God, this situation is so Russian in a very bad way. I’ve dealt with unpleasant people while Inatting only once, but that’s because I’ve been actively using the platform since very recently. A week ago some guy decided to make his dog get me 30m away from our local so-called protected area (Малиновая засека near Tula, honestly, there are many locals who just eat and drink there, completely uninterested in nature). Don’t know what stopped his combat dog from its final steps towards me (it was roaming without a leash, and without a noseband obviously, it’s mfkn Russian province), but it was pretty scary and my eager to take pictures of birds almost vanished immediately. Well, at least I was reminded again that the guys with combat dogs are just cowards afraid even of small girls with cameras. As a road and trail runner I’m reminded of it too often.
I’m surprised that noone ever suggested that I am looking for scheduled substances, as there are many drug couriers in there who also visit ‘strange’ areas holding their phones. Now I even slightly regret organising CNC in my city because I envision a lot of conflicts with locals. The only thing I can do is to encourage every Inatter not to go to unknown places alone.
Speaking of that guy who bullied you, I wish I knew what to do. Personally I’m going to buy a pepper spray and/or electric shock device. There are too many inadequate dog owners and stray dogs.

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Oh, well, and 3 years ago I surprisingly found out that some overly curious men are wiped away the moment they find out that I’m a journalist (and I really am, and even have a press card). But it might not work with aggressive ones I guess.

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