October 2021 - 29

Why you should take the picture
Many hunters choose not to take any images
of the animals they harvest. That's fine, but here
is an argument for why you should consider it.
" I think we live in a world that suffers greatly
from an ostracizing feeling of nature, " Johnson
said. " We view it through postcards, Hollywood
and cookie-cutter windows. If done right, hunting
can strike a conversation that says, 'Let's talk
about the reality of ecosystems and nature and our
impact on the world and the fact that life begets
life and flesh eats flesh, and at some point we're
all predator and prey, no matter who we are and
what we eat and how we eat.' "
Sharing the right image from a hunt can help
start that conversation.
Why you should do it respectfully
Done well, sharing a picture from a hunt can
change a person's mind. Done poorly, it can damage
a lifestyle less than 10 percent of the people
in the U.S. share, Johnson said. Many people in
the country have a stereotypical idea of hunters,
and it often includes words like " bloodthirsty. " If
the image you share on social media includes an
animal covered in blood or contorted in a strange
position, those beliefs will be reinforced.
While we want to preserve hunting as a lifestyle,
a way to connect with nature and a means
to place healthy, sustainable food on the table,
hunting also needs to be preserved as a way to
manage wildlife, Boswell said. The better we as
hunters can portray hunting, the more likely hunting
will remain as a management tool.
Position it naturally and remove blood
In your haste to take a photo before beginning
field dressing, you may be tempted to snap a picture
with the animal as it was when it died. But
pause for a few moments and think about how you
can make the animal look slightly more natural.
Position the head and body how the animal would
be if it laid down to rest, Gocke said, not crooked
or strained as though it suffered.
Bring along a rag to clean blood off yourself
after field dressing your animal, but also to clean
blood off the animal before a picture, Johnson said.
No one wants to see blood pooling out of a creature's
mouth or bubbling from a gunshot wound.
Blood, intestines and other portions of animals
are natural, but they often are hard for those who
don't hunt to understand and process. Similarly,
place the animal's tongue back in its mouth and
close the jaw. " If you think your 3-year-old will be
horrified, probably don't share it, " Johnson said.
Jaden Bales approaches a harvested pronghorn buck. Taking a harvest shot from a different angle can create a
unique image that tells a story. (Photo by Jessi Johnson)
" If done right, hunting can strike a conversation that says,
'Let's talk about the reality of ecosystems and nature and
our impact on the world and the fact that life begets life and
flesh eats flesh, and at some point we're all predator and prey,
no matter who we are and what we eat and how we eat.' "
- Jessi Johnson, Wyoming Wildlife Federation
Wyoming Wildlife | 29

October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2021