How to Attract Wildlife

If you live close enough to a wooded area and you have small children, you can spend a fun and educational day attracting wildlife and photographing it. If you are a hunter, you obviously want to attract wildlife so you can have a successful day out. No matter what your motivation, knowing how to safely attract the wildlife in your area can be an important part of getting to know the ecosystem you live in. It is only with proper understanding and realization of how delicate and precious our natural resources are that we can begin to save them from those that wish to destroy them.

First, before you start to attract the respective wildlife in your area, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Make sure you have your camera ready to go. Even the best wildlife calls and methods only work so well and you may only catch a glimpse of the animal you want, so be ready. It is also important that you never, ever feed a wild animal. Bears, deer, and other animals can become dependent on humans for food and that often results in more animals encroaching on human development. Also, many wild animals, like deer, are rife with ticks and other disease-carrying bugs that can harm humans.

Attracting Birds
Attracting Deer
Attracting Foxes
Attracting Bears

Attracting Birds

Most wildlife stores will have bird calls for particular birds in your area. Simply learn how to use a particular bird call or whistle and you have a good chance of observing your bird of choice.

You can dramatically increase the chances of attracting birds if you set out a feeder or some suet for the birds to enjoy. It is important that you note what the particular bird you are looking to attract eats. Different birds enjoy different seed so if you can provide another reason for a particular kind of bird to show up, you'll increase your chances.

Attracting Deer

Attracting a deer isn't as difficult as it sounds, especially if it is mating season. Deer are far more aggressive when it comes to being near humans during mating season.

Your local wildlife store should have a scent you can buy that you can spray over a particular area for attracting deer.

There is also a call you can use that will attract bucks looking to fight. Just like the bird calls, the deer calls are often available from your local outdoors store.

One final tool you can use is a rattling sound in a paper bag. This again simulates the sound of two bucks going at it, and will often attract other, larger bucks looking to get these younger, smaller bucks off their land.

Attracting Foxes

Many urban areas across Europe are experiencing problems with urban foxes. If you have your garbage bins outside, chances are, you are already attracting urban foxes on a regular basis. Luckily, studies have shown that cases of rabies in urban foxes are very rare, but attracting foxes in your area should be as easy as leaving out some food for them to snack on.

However, and this is very important, attracting animals by feeding them is dangerous since the wild animal can get dependent on what you give them and you may actually be doing far more harm than good.

Attracting Bears

Again, the easiest way to attract a bear, or any large animal, out of the forest would be with food. Almost all wild animals have a very keen sense of smell that can pick up the scent of food from a mile away, so if you put out some raw meat or some other food with a strong scent, it is only a matter of time until you attract animals.