I love animals. They bring joy to me whether they are domestic or wild, or a combination of those characteristics. In 2024 the World Leisure Journal published a special issue entitled, “Unstructured Entanglements of Human Leisure and Nonhuman Animal Life.” I found these submissions intriguing.
The studies centralize humans and speak to the thousands of nonhuman species that live alongside humans. Animals can provide pleasure, enjoyment, and happiness as well as fear and trepidation. Animals and humans are linked whether they are domestic pets or wild animals that foster joy and respect.
Domestic pets such as cats, dogs, and other species interact with humans daily. I will not expound on the importance of those relationships since folks have their firsthand experiences. I have described my love for my kitties in previous blogs. Anyone who has a pet recognizes the comfort they provide as well as the sadness when they cross the rainbow bridge to wait for us.
Growing up on a farm, I loved the animals we raised. I acknowledged their utility to our livelihood. My dad treated them with profound respect. They had an economic purpose in life that I took for granted. They were not pets but provided an essential commitment and reverence as they lived and died. I do not eat much red meat these days, but when I do, I consciously thank those animals that now become a part of my body and remember how my dad cherished his caretaking of our animals.
I enjoy the daily interaction I have with animals in the wild. I never get tired of seeing the deer fawns or the elk calves. I get excited when I see a pine marten or snowshoe hare crossing the trail in front of me. I love the monthly opportunities I have as a citizen scientist to count elk in the park. I am in awe of these wild animals in my life.
Animal-human encounters, however, are not always positive. I often get asked in the park about bears and mountain lions. People share their fears. The reality is that you are lucky to see either of them. I have been hiking in this park for over 55 years and have only encountered a handful of black bears and have never seen a mountain lion. I remind people that the most dangerous animals in the park are a moose (they are very moody) and/or a mother elk protecting her baby.
I adopt a multispecies perspective on all the relationships I have with animals. Those associations occur everyday. I am grateful for the interactions with pets as well as “wild” animals.