Wildlife UK Forum - Discuss the UK countryside and wildlife

Anyone who loves wildlife knows that you should always try to make sure that once you've been somewhere you should leave it in the same state you found it. That means not leaving litter, closing (or leaving open) gates etc.

One of the important things is when looking at small bugs, trying to make sure they are recovered if you lift up a rock or log to get a look at them. It always makes me cringe though when I see people pick up a rock, look at it, then place it the same way down on the floor, probably crushing some of the larger insects that were living there. Isn't it much better to leave it sideways so that the bugs get a chance to crawl under again and not get crushed?

I always thought this one about Woodlouse living in the logs at the bottom of my garden. I am not sure which is best to do.
Put it Back
Leave it Aside

I'm in full agreement with you about leaving things as you found them. When I'm taking flower pics, I do as little gardening as possible, preferring to hold the intrusive vegetation down with anything I have handy, then pushing it all back in to place when I have finished. That way, the micro-climate is disturbed only for a short time.

This is always a dilemma. For larger animals - i.e. amphibians and reptiles, unless you are sure that they won't be crushed, I think it is best to move them out of the way, replace the object and let them find their own way back. I would say that leaving things aside is not the right thing to do. If there is lots of life and you are worried then give everything 10 minutes to move off and then replace.

It is an interesting problem, it's not a great idea to leave hidden animals exposed, but if you place the rock very nearby they will find it pretty quickly and you wont have any chance of hurting them.

I always leave it nearby in any scenario, as even small bugs can get crushed by a rock being placed on them. If you stay around for a minute or so the creatures usually find their way back to cover pretty quickly.

Thanks for all the responses! Very interesting what people do. Wild canon, I often think that potos look better when the plants haven't been arranged to look perfect, it looks more natural.