美国国家公共电台 NPR Some Wildlife Photographers Use Bait, But Is It Worth The Shot?

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Have you ever seen one of those amazing wildlife photos of an owl 1 swooping 2 in - wings stretched out, coming, like, straight at the camera right at you? Well, how in the world did a photographer get that shot? Turns out, they used a mouse. This is called baiting. And Dan Kraker of Minnesota Public Radio says some people do not like this.

DAN KRAKER, BYLINE 3: Last month, photographer Michael Furtman was driving along the north shore of Lake Superior in search of great gray owls 4. Several of the giant owls had flown down from Canada looking for food.

MICHAEL FURTMAN: I knew about this bird on this road here.

KRAKER: And we're standing 5 right where Furtman spotted 6 a great gray and also spotted a pair of videographers filming them.

FURTMAN: So I backed off. I was going to just let them have, you know, their time with the bird. And then I saw them run out and put a mouse on the snow.

KRAKER: Predictably, the hungry owl dove down in front of the camera snatching an easy meal. Furtman says he was so angry that he got in his car and drove away. But he soon returned to confront them and film the encounter on his phone. He later posted the video on Facebook.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

FURTMAN: There are a lot of people who would like to photograph this bird hunting. And it's not going to hunt the rest of the day after you stuff it to the gills.

UNIDENTIFIED VIDEOGRAPHER: OK, we understand. And...

KRAKER: It's hard to hear, but she says they're not hurting the bird, although she admits that they're hurting the photographers. Here's what's at issue. Those opposed to feeding say it's unethical and doesn't capture owls behaving naturally. Michael Furtman has made it his mission to fight the practice, confronting people and outing them when they post baited photographs online. James Duncan, an owl expert who directs Manitoba's wildlife and fisheries branch, says the main concern is it can habituate owls to humans.

JAMES DUNCAN: You're essentially 8 training the owl to lose its fear of humans and associate food with humans, so then they become bolder.

KRAKER: Which, he says, increases the chance they can get hit by a car. But others say there's a lack of evidence showing that owls are being harmed.

TERRY CRAYNE: It's a nasty battle. But as far as I know, there's no data to back up any of the negative.

KRAKER: Terry Crayne is a longtime hobby wildlife photographer in northern Minnesota who admits to using mice to entice 9 owls.

CRAYNE: Most of the people I know who are against feeding owls are actually feeding deer. The deer are associating humans with food. So which is worse? In my mind, if you are against feeding one animal, you should be against feeding them all.

KRAKER: Photographers here say they began to see widespread owl feeding about a dozen years ago. Michael Furtman says he even tried it but quickly soured on the practice. Still, it worked.

FURTMAN: I mean, I have to admit it's really cool to watch an owl fly in and grab something. You know, how often do you get to see a predator 10 pounce 11 on prey 12?

KRAKER: Advances in digital cameras have attracted a lot more people into wildlife photography. And that's increased the conflicts around owl feeding. Several magazines and photo contests now reject baited shots of owls and other predators 13, including National Wildlife magazine, where Lisa Moore is editorial director.

LISA MOORE: It's unnatural 14 behavior, and it devalues the hard work of ethical 7 wildlife photographers who are out there taking the time in the field to wait for that shot.

KRAKER: She says her magazine's goal is to feature ethical, authentic 15 photos not of wildlife in a game farm or lured 16 with bait. For NPR News, I'm Dan Crocker in Duluth, Minn.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOXHOLE'S "LAMENTATION")