The Impact of Man

All the photos in the panel were taken in the space of twelve minutes in the the National Botanic Garden's, Glasnevin on the first of April.  It was a bitter sweet time, I love the joy of observing wildlife through my long lens, but it was tinged by the impact of man on these beautiful creatures.  The unnatural behavior was unnerving and also I shivered as I remembered garden management culling a lot of them a year or two back because they were being a nuisance to the visitors.  The feeding of the squirrels has resulted in them loosing their fear of humans and recognising them as a source of food.  The thought that this would once again occur hasn't gone from my mind and has unnerved me.  Many view the grey squirrels as a pest.  They are invasive so many hate them compared to our more favored native red.  But, to me all wildlife is special and it is a blessing to be able to observe them.

The message of this post is to encourage you not to allow our wonderful urban wildlife, whether it is grey squirrels or deer in the Phoenix Park, to loose their fear of humans and learn to associate them with food.  Observe them and watch their natural behavior from a save distance. 

Photos taken on 1/4/2026 | Panel posted 3/4/2026