There was one time a friend of mine and I (both women) parked at a trailhead and as we were leaving our car a man parked nearby and started getting his things together like any other person getting out of their car at a trailhead. We didn’t think anything of it and headed down the trail. Nothing suspicious at all. There were no other cars there. When we got a little further down the trail we heard some movement on the other side of some trees along the trail, but it was too dense to see anything. Still nothing seemed wrong, and we kept walking. A couple of minutes later my friend and I, without having looked at each other or having said anything to each other, both turned around at the same time and ran our fastest back to the car and drove off. When we finally started talking about it, both of us said that the reason we did that was because we could literally feel the hair on the backs of our necks raising. That was a feeling neither of us had ever had before. There could have been any number of causes of the noise we heard, and any number of reasons that the man was doing whatever he was doing, but I’m convinced that if your body is telling you in a big way that something is wrong you should trust that and do whatever you can to ensure your safety.
I’ve had that feeling a few times in the field. Like your “spider-sense” tingling. Made me hyper vigilant for a while but never could pin down what triggered it.
I have not had this experience but I have a suggestion. First, find one or two people (not chatty) who share your interests and go as a group. Second, choose routes or areas that are rough or difficult and go as far away from the cars as possible.
jim44314
Interesting that you mentioned your business card in a work related situation, because I was thinking we should all have business cards made up naming us as naturalists. And the business card should ask them to follow us on iNaturalist! If people think you are trying to sell them something, it is sometimes easier to get rid of them! LOL! Please understand that I am not minimizing the seriousness of these encounters. I sympathize very much with the fear and discomfort and stress they cause. But it may be that we need a toolkit of options for responding to them, rather than one “solution.” Options for extroverts, options for introverts, etc.
Until it doesn’t.
I’m sorry for your bad experiences with dogs, but, in my opinion, whenever there is a dog problem, it is always a dog OWNER problem. IMO, dog owners should have to pass a test to own a dog, the same way we have to pass a test to drive a car.
Yes, I don’t blame the animals, they were raised like that or just being theselves but in the wrong place, they don’t decide on such things.
Are they very noisy?
What is the address of that web site for parents? I could use a brush up on that kind of knowledge.
Yes, I think that would be my first instinct - Where is this feeling coming from? I might wait too long, trying to figure it out. But, if it was really strong - yeah, I’d run.
Wear an iNat T shirt . But not hand to hand business cards.
That hasn’t happened to me yet.
In a really tight spot it helps a lot to either pretend to be a witch (to know black magic and spells), or to pretend to be completely stark raving mad.
They are both great fall-back positions.
Aw that sounds so horrible. Im sorry you had to go through that. People shouldnt be rude like that and you should be able to be you and do what you want. I really hope you dont meet more rude people like this. Ive never met anyone rude yet, but I havent really had the chance to go out on my own and take pictures. My main chances are when Im with the Desert Museum on a field day. I wish you best and I hope this doesnt interfere with your work and experiences.
What a terrible experience. I feel this way sometimes! I hope you know that your people are out there and I am one. Keep the faith and keep inatting!!!
Katherine
Weirdly I seem to often have the opposite experience, and it causes me anxiety trying not to. It hasnt happened in years since I no longer tend to spend time in cities/subburbia, but there has been times I have been walking down the street and had someone walking the other way cross the road, walk for a bit on the other side, then cross back after passing. I try to come off as non intimidating, but I get it. I am a biggish (188cm / 6’2) guy.
Generally when inating I am either off track in the bush, or looking at night on tracks well away from houses, so tend not to encounter many people. But if I do see someone approaching if I am looking at stuff on a track during day, I always pre-emptively give a “Nice day for it” or similar, to try and prevent any creep vibes, and if they ask why I am doing, often try to use it as a lesson if they are interesting in learning anything about nature. But I am a massive believer in driving interest through experience, so if that encounter encourages them to look closer at things, and feel for nature, thats awesome, and if not, well thats fine too.
I do very much appreciate the privilege I have as a larger guy to not have to fear (generally, because I cant say it hasnt happened) guys trying to pick me up.
I would like to have such an effect on people! I had a an approaching me photographing spiders at like 12-1 a.m. and keeping asking questions for awkwardly long, I know that being outside that late alone is not ideal, but it was right near building and people here know me, joking to each other that I’m photographing walls (like ?, also long time ago photographed a goldfinch on high branches, two men joked I was photographing sky, must be funny to not see any wildlife around you).
Occasionally at night, I am out taking photos of what ever invertebrates I see on the side of the garage, which is on a shared driveway. Sometimes the lady in the house behind walks past going to or from work (She works in a pub, so it has late hours), and she asks what I am looking at, but she knows its critter hunting, which is all good.
That is something I try to encourage, people to look closer, its amazing what you dont notice because you arent looking. Even now though, I keep finding different ways I need to look at things to find them. I have noticed some people seem to not really take in much around them. Like several times I have been on one of the popular local walking tracks, checking a trapline, I will be checking a trap no more than 2 - 3m off the side of the track in my high vis, so if they looked around I would immediately stand out. But I have found the majority of people just look straight ahead and dont see me at all. Since most people seem more focused on the destination than the journey.
That trapline check though I often take as a chance to do local interp (I am a ranger, and wearing uniform at those times). Some people are happy to really get into local flora/fauna, many dont want more than a passing “hello”. But there are definitly times after a certain ammount of time I need to use a “Well its been a great chat, but I need to get back on schedule” type line. Havent had it on a night hunt, but I very much feel people would be unlikely to approach me at night.
I see you have many responses to your post, which I will eventually read, but I want to offer my own thoughts while they’re fresh.
Fortunately I’ve never experienced anything like this while iNatting. (While taking an architectural photo, yeah… and it was a commercial building on literal Main Street.) But I know women who are somewhere between reluctant and afraid to go on nature walks alone, so you are not alone in your concerns. If it makes you more comfortable, go with a friend or a group. I do most of my nature walks with a group (we have a few active groups in my area), mostly for the companionship and because I’ve learned about places I might otherwise have missed. But I also walk alone in places where I feel comfortable.
You may be iNatting with a smart phone, but if you’re using a camera be sure to also have a cell phone with you in case you need help. (It could be a sprained ankle as easily as it was an aggressive stranger.) A whistle can help, too.
Have a story in case you run into this guy (or one like him) again. “Oh, I’m doing this for a project at my university and this camera belongs to the university. I really shouldn’t be using it for photos outside the scope of our project.” You shouldn’t need to explain yourself, but some people don’t get that.
As a last resort, take the photo. Suggest he be in the photo with his dog. Show the photo to your friends. Show the cops. Show the park rangers (if you’e in a park). Make sure everyone knows who this guy is who harassed you. And then delete the photo (assuming it’s digital).
As long as you are on public property and not doing anything illegal or creepy, you have every right to photograph wild nature and not to photograph some guy’s dog. What he did was rude and foolish, and it’s unfortunate you bore the brunt of it.
Go with a friend or a group. A local museum hosts a biweekly bird walk, so check with museums, universities, environmental organizations, etc. If you don’t have a group that does nature walks in your area, start one!
I don’t know what you have available where you are, but I find organized walks though sites like Meetup and Eventbrite.
OK, now I’m ready. I have a photo of the dog, maybe the guy, his name and his e-mail address or phone number. I’m going to the police to make a complaint.