Wild Lessons for Kids

We’ve all witnessed the wonder and excitement of a child watching a wild animal. Whether it’s a chipmunk scurrying in the park or a tiger grooming her cub at the zoo, wildlife has the power to enthrall. Kids’ fascination with the wild side, however, can lead them to feed, handle, or—worse—take home wild animals. The result can be problems for people and wildlife. How can you teach children to give wild animals what they really need: our respect and their space?

Opportunities to teach children proper behavior around wildlife abound. Schools, summer camps, nature centers, church groups, and daycare centers may welcome a talk encouraging positive interaction with wild animals.

In your presentations, tell children to practice the three L’s with wildlife: look, listen, leave them alone. Ask kids to name wild animals commonly found in their neighborhoods and describe some of their behaviors. Explain how the animals’ behaviors in the wild are important both to them and to people (e.g., squirrels bury acorns and new trees grow; birds, bats, frogs, and toads eat harmful insects; earthworms turn over soil) and discuss the impact of taking a wild animal out of nature. You can also encourage children research their favorite exotic animals and the jobs they do. Direct them to encyclopedias, field guides, and natural history websites (www.enature.com has information on over 5,000 species).

To teach children about the problems associated with keeping wild animals as pets, use the “Wild Ways” handout (best for grades 3-4). Explain the activity to your group, and give kids a few minutes to read the clues to the left and right of each animal. Then ask which clues go with each animal. After a correct answer, discuss other reasons that animal shouldn’t be kept captive, including expense and time involved in meeting the animal’s needs and dangers the animal may pose to people. Reading the poem, “Where the Wild Things Shouldn’t Be” or playing “Alien Adventure,” a story from the Troubadour’s Tales CD are great ways to end your talk and put children in the paws of a wild-animal-turned-pet. Finally, tell kids that by giving you their attention, they’ve accomplished the fourth L: learning, which is the key to the fifth one: loving wildlife for who they are.