Approach Zones

I am one of those people who sometimes lacks a lot of common sense. If you ask someone close to me they will say I have less common sense than I think I do! Often I struggle with the most simple of concepts and need to see them in a different way…or just get out of my “head” and use the artistic side of my brain.

The idea of Approach Zones is one of those concepts. In theory Approach Zones are very simple to talk about but when put into actionable steps they can become complex. There is an intuitiveness and an art to manipulating Approach Zones. As luck would have it, most animal people are quite intuitive and empathetic to the feelings of those creatures around them.

When approaching an animal, think of your approach in terms of concentric circles, similar to that of ripples in water after tossing in a stone – the ripples change in size and no two stones create the same kind of ripple. The same applies when approaching any kind of animal. In our case, the concentric circles can be given definable names.

First, the Awareness Zone, which is the outer circle. In this zone the animal is aware of the person approaching but shows little or no reaction.

Next is the Alert Zone. In this area the animal’s body language changes and may become defensive or nervous. It will stare at the person cautiously and prepare in most cases to flee or stay and decide to fight. In this zone the person has a lot of control and can actually “shrink” it by acting calm, avoiding eye contact, and doing everything possible to seem like a threat. It’s in this area where intuition can be very helpful. It’s an art, in a way, to calm an animal from a distance with whatever method feels best.

The Action Zone can be thought of as belonging to the animal and this fact should be kept in mind when approaching. It’s here that the animal will react by fleeing, submitting, or fighting. A person should do everything possible NOT to enter this zone. If a capture is to be attempted, do it in the Alert Zone.

There is no clear size or shape that can be given to an Approach Zone as each is different depending on the situation. When approaching an animal, there science and art going on at the same time. The process can’t be rushed as it’s usually dictated by the animal. Think of yourself as “blending” with the situation/animal energetically as you approach. You’ll be using both sides of your brain in an exercise such as this. If you’re a natural at using both sides of your brain you’ll be able to capture the animal faster than you thought possible!