If you haven't seen the tempest growing in Wyoming, a fox named 15M was euthanized this week because of its growing habituation to humans. You might be asking, why is this news on a photo-centric site? Throw in an as-of-recently much-maligned, world-famous photographer and maybe you're interested?
Let's start with these assumptions and rules:
- Nobody should be afraid to point out what looks like wrongdoing, even if the alleged wrongdoer is a famous photographer;
- Whistleblowers, for lack of a better word, should not be punished for speaking out if their intention is an honest one;
- We should not rush to judgment, we should make sure we get all the facts; and,
- We should do our best to avoid the cancel culture that comes part and parcel with a rush to judgment.
Colter Bay Incident From Taxis' Point of View
According to Jackson Hole photographer Tiffany Taxis, David Yarrow's crew members lured a wild fox using food for a photograph. For those of you not into wildlife photography, this is a no-no. Taxis snapped an image of a portion of the interaction between Yarrow's crew and the foxes.
Yarrow on the ground, crew member in blue with hand raised. Courtesy of Tiffany Taxis.
Yarrow is the photographer on the ground. One of his crew is holding something in his hand and what appears to be a bag above his head while a pair of red foxes flirt with Yarrow's camera. Taxis maintains that just before this moment the crew member in blue dropped something on the ground. Many who understand what wildlife luring is might assume that this was food.
Taxis explained to me that just before she snapped this image, Yarrow turned to the crew member in blue and said something she couldn't quite hear.
I think that Taxis was a bit intimidated at the time. There were several men in Yarrow's crew and Taxis was shooting alone. Those are my words, not hers. I think Taxis is brave for calling out a world-famous photographer. Ethical wildlife photographers do not do lure animals. Luring animals with food or comfort can change their innate behavior and potentially habituate them.
A Quick Side Trip to McDonald's
There is also a rumor on various social media channels about the foxes being fed Big Macs. I've had a chance to talk to truth_animal through Instagram. truth_animal shared a few screenshots from Joe Brandl's Facebook feed. Brandl is the figure with the cowboy hat and duster in Taxis' image. These screenshots show Brandl commenting that the fox was fed Big Macs and joking that the fox had used up its three strikes and is out. I'm assuming that's a euphemism for its eventually culling. I reached out to Brandl for comment and he confirmed that his comments were a joke. Perhaps not all that funny to wildlife photographers or conservationists, but a joke nonetheless. To be clear, Taxis did not mention McDonald's burgers in our conversation. Her view wasn't clear enough for that. For many talking about habituated foxes facing euthanasia because of human and animal interaction won't be seen as funny. Humor is a fickle and a time-sensitive thing.
To be clear, Yarrow is responsible for what Brandl does on his set, but he can't be held responsible for off-the-cuff comments made by Brandl after a shoot.
Director on Set
I've written about Yarrow before and have no qualms maintaining that his involvement with Animals of Montana ("AoM") was a bad thing for animal welfare. Which, for the record, he has acknowledged. Yarrow has gone on record stating that he will not use animal sanctuaries in the United States again.
As the photographer in charge of a shoot, I'm convinced that the buck stops with Yarrow. So, when a tiger managed to cause a fuss in Detroit's old Packard Plant on one of his shoots, any responsibility is Yarrow's. Just like here, the actions of his crew are his responsibility.
Hearing Taxis' story, I reached out to Yarrow for comment.
Colter Bay Incident From Yarrow's Point of View
Yarrow told me point blank that he did not instruct his crew to lure the fox with food. In a no-names conversation, the crew member in the blue coat told me that he did not drop food.
Yarrow explained to me that he was out at Colter Bay to shoot images for his story of the American West project.
Yarrow's work from the shoot in question.
According to Yarrow, the idea to shoot the foxes was a passing thought as he wrapped the editorial shoot.
Yarrow does admit that he and his crew clicked their fingers or flicked snow to get the fox to briefly look up.
This may put me on the wrong side of certain wildlife photographers, but I've shifted in my seat or clicked my tongue to encourage a lion or polar bear to look my way. I'm not stomping, I'm not feeding, I'm shifting. If Yarrow is telling the truth, I'm not surprised. With foxes darting all over, a snap or click might attract them for just a brief moment.
Where Are We Now?
The Jackson Hole News & Guide has reported that the fox in question, 15M, was euthanized this week.
According to Teton Park Science and Resource Chief Gus Smith, quoted in the JHN&G, the Park has been looking to capture and euthanize this specific fox since the middle of last year. Apparently, 15M has jumped into occupied golf carts or onto picnic tables being used for picnics.
All reports suggest that the fox was not euthanized because of the interaction with Yarrow's crew.
In reference to the incident, Jamie Joseph of Saving the Wild has written
Yarrow is not the only person to blame, but someone with such a large following should be setting a good example, rather than create a movement of photographers who bait wild animals and exploit them through staged photography where they are forced to live in cages the size of prison cells.
I completely agree.
It's my impression that Yarrow does as well. I could sense contrition in Yarrow. In fact, he told me that he believes that he can feel contrition even if he didn't do anything wrong. He went on to say:
. . . people see me as someone they have regard for, it is imperative that I always conduct myself, leaving no room for ambiguity, to exemplary standards. Last week, I Ieft room for ambiguity. I can be crystal clear that we were not luring.
Now What, Cancel Yarrow?
The Parks Service is investigating the luring incident. They have not issued any type of finding or release.
I have no doubt that Taxis is sharing a story that she believes in. So, until the investigation is finished, until we have firm proof of what happened, do we just lock Yarrow up and throw away the key?
Even if you consider Yarrow's historical record and involvement with AoM, that doesn't have any bearing on this investigation. Yarrow would be the first to say that he's learned from AoM. Saving the Wild and Yarrow even put out a joint press release to specifically note Yarrow's mea culpa in relation to AoM.
Why push Yarrow to be better if we're not going to give him the chance to do so?
Do we just cancel Yarrow? Or do we give him the due process we afford everyone else?
Yarrow's work in Teton National Park.
I find it interesting that although we live in an increasingly complicated and nuanced world, we've drifted into a polarized approach to almost everything. I'm willing to see the gray. I'm willing to make room for ambiguity as long as we maintain a certain floor of civility; in this case, a certain floor of ethics and conservation.
All images provided by Tiffany Taxis and David Yarrow.
I dont have a useful opinion on the matter, I just wanted to say that this was a very well written article, and thank you for taking the time to give a balanced view. I'd read about the issue on other sites (well, more like skimmed), and it was either damn him to hell for his crimes, or cancel culture rants. I now feel like i have an actual understanding of the issues. So thanks.
Hi Mark,
I wanted to add to this discussion as, whilst I have been a fan of Yarrow’s work and the charitable contributions he makes, I am increasingly concerned by the number of times his actions are flagged by others. It feels to me there is a tendency and a pattern to push the boundaries, both with his approach to wild animals and use of captive/trained ones. This is a reflection of the efficient way he treats getting the shot as a business transaction (interesting how often his trip reports mention packing up and heading home early as soon as he has what he wants - he’s not there to hang out in nature) and his views that he is an artist and therefore not bound by the rules of “purist” wildlife photography (see quote at the bottom of this article https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr...).
Whilst I won’t comment on this specific incident as we don’t have all the details, I want to leave you with the below screenshot from his orangutan video. They clearly show themselves feeding bananas to the orangutans to attract them (this seems to be the secret of the locals who know the orangutans). Whilst there are locations where conservation groups feed orangutans he makes a big thing in his trip report of wanting to get away from these. In reality what he appears to have done is the same thing, just somewhere that there’s no other tourists and no restrictions on how close he can get to them. He doesn’t reveal enough details to know if his actions are sanctioned by a local conservation group but it certainly shows he is happy to use food as a lure.
See from the 3.50 mark and the attached screenshot https://youtu.be/7WMnZr_LQtU
Thank you Toby. I appreciate the time you've taken to reflect and contribute.
I agree - there is a troubling aspect to Yarrow. Despite his contributions.
I intentionally steered clear of focussing on other issues as I'm willing to give Yarrow opportunity to change. He has faced a lot of flak in recent years. I thought I saw a change in attitude in his press release with Saving the Wild. And, frankly, in talking to him personally.
Thanks again Toby.
Hi Mark,
Let’s see, I hope you are right but I get the impression he is more concerned with realising his vision of a shot than how he gets it - this is the blurring of lines between his staged commercial shoots and his wildlife images - so this is a fundamental mindset, especially given how this approach has paid off for him. I suspect there are few other wildlife photographers making as much money as he is.
He also likes to have a dramatic story to take away with him of how he got it (all part of the brand I guess) and I suppose the breathless rushing to a location and getting a shot against time pressure or getting within touching distance of a wild animal is more exciting to write about than stories of sitting in a hide for a week!
There’s a whole other debate around whether his tactics are justified given the attention he can bring to a cause and the money he has raised for charities. But that is too much for a comments section!
As someone who lives in Jackson, we contend with millions of uneducated tourists, many pulling the same stunts as Yarrow and his crew, all the time.
Unless you absolutely disbelieve Taxis' representation below (from the Jackson Hole News & Guide article), the intent was to trigger the animals to come closer for a food reward. The photos show this. They *ONLY* wiggle room is whether they threw actual food, or just something meant to seem like food, to lure the now-dead fox, and they were successful:
>>>>>>
The man in blue, a Montanan named Tom Rosenthal, denied he was feeding the foxes.
“I made a noise,” he said, “that’s all I did.”
Rosenthal said that if he threw anything to intrigue the animals it was cellophane wrapper from a pack of cigarettes.
Taxis, who was convinced she saw food, knew that feeding wildlife is illegal in the national park. But being all by herself she recalled being leery of confronting a group of men with firearms. She discreetly took pictures of the group manipulating the fox, and those images show Rosenthal positioned behind a photographer prone in the snow. Rosenthal, the images show, is holding some object and raising his hand to draw the food-conditioned animal in.
“The fox came running up and probably got about a foot away of the photographer,” Taxis said. “And then one of the men standing next to him said [to the fox], ‘You better do what I tell you to do or I’m going to shoot you.’”
>>>>>>>
It is self evident they did not intend to follow the law, requiring 25 yards distance to wildlife, and quite the opposite, made intentional motions to bait the animal to come extremely close. And so these animals continue to grow their trust in people, scouring campsites for food, living near high volume vehicle traffic, and they end up being killed by the Park or by vehicles.
Shame on anyone with knowledge of all of this behaving as they did. The 'do what I tell you or I'll shoot you' quote only drives the point home further. Perhaps Taxis made that up out of thin air, but I doubt it.
David Yarrow has come by his reputation honestly, if nothing else.
https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/environmental/photography-crew-inves...
I live in Jackson, I earn my living as a photographer (not of wildlife), I have a boat on Jackson Lake, and spend as much of my summer free time up there as I possibly can. I find Yarrow's behavior utterly reprehensible, and patently inexcusable. He knew what he was doing. His attitude and the words of his crew are beyond cruel, and he has no place representing wildlife whatsoever. Our wildlife will be better off without him.
TO WIT:
“I noticed that the fox was kind of following this man in blue,” Taxis told the News&Guide. “It wasn’t until I saw him drop things from a plastic bag that I realized he was feeding the fox.”
“The fox came running up and probably got about a foot away of the photographer,” Taxis said. “And then one of the men standing next to him said [to the fox], ‘You better do what I tell you to do or I’m going to shoot you.’”
There is simply NO WAY anything they were doing was by accident, and their behavior is the PRECISE reason we end up having to euthanize wildlife, or scrape them off the road. For someone so experienced and so high profile to be acting as Yarrow did... it's unthinkable, and he's earned his negative notoriety.
Perhaps the only surprising thing here is that it was apparently amateur hour in Photoshop. That image of the man on the horse coming across half-frozen Jackson lake... yeesh. The snow on the slopes of the mountains running out into the middle of the lake, the fake snow splash from the horse's hooves, with no trail of tracks to the left or right? Did they swim in from across the lake? Throw in a bunch of white blobs on the right... just to distract? The average high school photography student would have edited that better.
Baiting animals? Bad at editing? David Yarrow is a hack.
This piece is a prime example of how not to photograph wildlife, so sad that the fox had to be put down, that is a negative result with human interaction with wildlife.
Yes, some photographers do some pretty stupid things. That’s been going on for years... and that’s a given. I did say some. A few bad apples with no common sender ruins everything for the majority. And I’m not referring to David Yarrow’s involvement. I too find comments made by SJW’S immature an naive, for the most part. And a little over the top.
Thanks for writing a fair and balanced article.
My issue with this article is the euthanized animal that paid the ultimate price unnecessarily. That was completely uncalled for, regardless of what reasons they had.
Cancel culture is another topic in its entirety and a threat to our way of life... regardless of your opinion, others have opinions too. That’s just the way it is... like it or not.