Please keep the Wildlife gallery free of captive animals

KatieR

9

26 Jul 2005 - 1:04 PM

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ah, but where did you release it?
Was it a genuine wild space?

And I believe that Christopher Robin domesticated Alexander Beetle in a matchbox.

u08mcb

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26 Jul 2005 - 1:33 PM

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That definition's too broad.

roxpix

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26 Jul 2005 - 1:45 PM

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"If the animals are being controlled in some way by humans, then they're captive."

Just to be pedantic cos it's 10.30.... when a rain forest is reduced to a tenth of its original size (by humans) therefor controlling its habitat/movement etc, the surviving wildlife is condensed into this much smaller space....then photographed. Would it still be wild?

Just curious

u08mcb

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26 Jul 2005 - 1:53 PM

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Its probably easier to set out criteria for something that is captive than it is for something that is wild but as with most attempts to compartmentalise stuff like this, there's no point.

Hazard

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26 Jul 2005 - 2:18 PM

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Are we not all restricted in some way ?
I'm mentally restricted for a start

NickdeBug

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26 Jul 2005 - 2:41 PM

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It seems to be something that people struggle to define acturately. When is an animal classed as captive? With the majority of 'wild' habitats managed (to all intents and purposes) by man, could an elephant in the Kruger National Park be considered truely wild. Or is it merely in a bigger cage?

If the classification is designed to show the relative difficulty of capturing a shot, can this be shown definitively by the 'wild' status of the animal. Each time a photographer is faced with a shot to take there are a set of decisions to be made and actions taken accordingly. You could argue that using captive animals simply allows you either more time to make those decisions, or offers a higher number of opportunities to get it right. At the end of the day, the result will still be determined by the photographer's skill and maybe this is how we should judge it.

Personally I think that it is a matter of common sense as to which category to include the image. Those photographers that have spent hours knee deep in mud to get the shot have the opportunity to highlight this in the description section (something that I think always adds to the image - the story behind it!).

I know a photographer who captive breeds various animals (most are rescue animals). He then uses them as models for photo shoots. These are basically tame animals, but he is able to put them in a setting that gives the appearance of being wild. Some may call it cheating, but most animal shots used in advertising are captive. When I worked for OSF I regularly used to find all sorts of beasties in the studio. My first day there I witnessed a 12 foot anaconda dragging a lighting cameraman across the floor (much to the amusement of his colleagues!).

This is the link for those interested Dan Cox Pet Lynx (not all the shots are of his tame lynx)

sillyconguru

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26 Jul 2005 - 4:00 PM

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Quote: when a rain forest is reduced to a tenth of its original size (by humans) therefor controlling its habitat/movement etc, the surviving wildlife is condensed into this much smaller space....then photographed. Would it still be wild?

Wild? I would think it would be furious

u08mcb

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26 Jul 2005 - 4:52 PM

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Quote: No animal in a zoo is truely wild, it has too much contact with humans and would be unlikely to survive very long in the wild if it did manage to break free.

If you're going to make a definition of wild that hinges on contact with humans, it can only apply to animals that can recognise they are in contact with humans in the first place.

Which is why it is easier to say something is not wild than it is to say something is wild. For everyone to agree something is wild, it'll have to satisfy a list of criteria as long as your arm. For it to be recognised as not wild, it need only fail to satisfy one.