You never know when you may find it necessary to bivouac or camp wild. (check out this guide for all you need to know about the camping laws in Europe. Thanks Mom) Sometimes this means camping with wild animals.
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Things That Go Bump In The Night
Large cats, Wolves, Bears and even wild boars may be closer to your camp site than you think.
Most of the time they will not bother you unless you have something delicious and tempting in your tent or backpack.
Cost Benefit Analysis
Animals are naturally curious to see who or what is in their territory. These same wild animals are also intelligent and much like humans do a cost benefit analysis of attacking an unknown creature in the middle of the night.
This means the risk/reward ratio is often too great unless the wild animal is very hungry and desperate for food.
If a larger animal gets even a small wound while fighting you for food it could get infected and be trouble. Most animals prefer to wait until you leave before raiding your fridge.
Wild Boars Can Be Quite Tame
William’s most frequent encounter iin Europe are with wild boars who are extremely intelligent and wait for you to leave your campsite to gorge on your food.
You will quickly learn the signs of a wild boar raid but rarely see one in the flesh!
Scat and torn up patches of earth and over turned boulders mean you will be going back to the market for more bread and muffins.
Animal Attractions
Be warned ! All rules may change during mating season! Much like humans, wild animals can act a little crazy when looking for love!
If you hear a lot of noise from male animals breaking tree branches or mating calls at night, you may wish to lay low and keep the lights off.
Good luck and happy camping makes happy campers.