In my own experience, “urban environmentalists” are in the awkward spot of frequently having strong opinions about wilderness management while being utterly ignorant of it. The people that live on or near the lands usually want to preserve it and have nuanced perspectives based on many years of first-hand experience managing the land. It is genuinely eye-opening to manage a large wild property, which I have. Nature is complex.
My experiences as a (former) rural landowner have made me sympathetic to rural landowners. Many of them are very in touch with the ecosystems they own. It is completely believable that they have relationships with some of the wild animals on their property. This is somewhat normal if you have resident animals you regularly come in contact with; many higher animals recognize and respect the boundaries of other animals, including but not limited to humans, but it is a negotiation of sorts. Wild animals are pretty clever and self-aware. I know of more than a couple examples where there is a cooperative relationship between the humans and some wild animals, an explicit quid pro quo.
My experiences as a (former) rural landowner have made me sympathetic to rural landowners. Many of them are very in touch with the ecosystems they own. It is completely believable that they have relationships with some of the wild animals on their property. This is somewhat normal if you have resident animals you regularly come in contact with; many higher animals recognize and respect the boundaries of other animals, including but not limited to humans, but it is a negotiation of sorts. Wild animals are pretty clever and self-aware. I know of more than a couple examples where there is a cooperative relationship between the humans and some wild animals, an explicit quid pro quo.