Camouflaging the Hands…

By Sean Fagan

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Improve your Wildlife Observation Skills by Camouflaging the Hands 

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You might be forgiven for thinking that there is not much difference between the above two photographs - but animals will often know the difference! And the closer you are to a wild animal the more vitally important these visual details become.

When it comes to visual methods of signalling for help in a survival situation there are two key features to keep in mind -  movement and contrast. Whatever method of visual signalling that is used it must be as contrasting as possible to its background. A contrasting method of signalling combined with movement will be as eye-catching as possible to potential rescuers.

So, what has this got to do with our own hands when either watching or stalking wildlife?  In effect the hands are like mini-signalling devices in the natural world. The bright, contrasting colour of the hands generally jumps out from the mostly subdued, muted tones of wild places. Additionally, we are generally prone to moving our hands a lot.

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The lesson is simple here in this mini-post. When observing or stalking wildlife, hide the hands or darken them with dull-coloured gloves or some form of natural camouflage - mud, dark soil and charcoal are all excellent. Even the foliage of many non-toxic plants - when vigorously crushed and rubbed together will express a green juice than can be used to temporarily stain the hands a green colour (natural camouflage also lowers your scent signature).

Personally, I’m not a fan of camouflage cream – it’s often difficult to remove once applied, and often has an strong ‘chemically’ smell - which can be be easily detected by wild animals (most wild mammal species have a keen sense of smell).

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Hand Movement

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When it comes to static or moving observation of wildlife it's vital to keep hand movement to an absolute minimum and when moving them - do so very slowly (most wild animals are extraordinarily attuned to fast movement - after all, fast movement can be a sudden indication of an attacking predator or rival).

So how slow should you move the hands? As a general rule - the closer you are to an animal the slower the hands should move. I've been very close to wild animals such as deer and the only way I could move my hands, undetected, was to move them at an almost imperceptibly slow pace.

Fast-moving hands are literally like bright, flashing flags to keen-sighted animals. There is often very little point in dressing up in quiet, camouflaged clothing and leaving the hands exposed and non-camouflaged.

The same point can be made for the face (future post on this topic).

Special, intimate encounters with wildlife are one of the great, time-honoured blessings of being outdoors doing bushcraft or whatever outdoor activity that floats your boat.

Whatever you do - don't let your hands scare off the wildlife : )

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Related articles on this website:

• Coyotes and the Aroostook River
• Nature: A Bushcraft Perspective
• Outdoor Awareness Skills