• A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Is the space a ways from your normal paths? As long as you leave em be (heh) they’ll usually ignore you

    This is the case for almost all wildlife in my experience of nearly 40 years (including a Boy Scout-focused childhood). There’s an energy you can summon through your attitude, body language, tone of voice, expressions, etc that makes you more palatable to animals. It’s “demonstrating you don’t want to hurt them and you won’t surprise them”. I think of it as “Buddha vibes”, as new agey as it sounds. (Im not a Buddhist, but Soto Zen in particular is a lifelong influence for me.) We are vectors of trauma for most animals and they respond accordingly.

    I have a wild rabbit I’ve gotten to know over the past few years. She lives in the yard i own, so I make sure my yard is healthy for her. No pesticides, infrequent mowing, etc. Nowadays she lets me get close enough for these kinds of pictures (very little zoom, I was <10’ from her).