Oh, look at that cute squirrel! He’s coming closer…giving him a little snack couldn’t hurt, right? Wrong. While a squirrel might look adorable munching on your trail mix, feeding wild animals is actually detrimental to their health and well-being.
It’s Not Just a Few Peanuts
You might have the best intentions when you want to share your lunch with a critter in the park, but feeding wildlife is dangerous. Human foods are not healthy for wild animals. Animals that eat our snacks can get full off the wrong foods and stop eating the nutrients they need to survive. They can stop hunting, foraging, or scavenging as they would naturally.
A Small Animal with Soft Brown Fur and Big Dark Eyes
Depending on humans for food is called “food conditioning.” Food conditioning is dangerous for animals because it can lead to serious consequences like getting sick, starving, or even having to be euthanized if they become too aggressive. Animals can lose their fear of people when they get used to eating our food. They may beg, steal, or even rip into your backpack or tent if you don’t give it to them. Because they approach you (and because they’re so cute!), people might think the animals are tame like our pets at home, but they are still wild creatures. If the animal feels threatened for any reason, it could bite, kick, charge, or attack you.
Let Them Stick to Their Natural Diet. Feeding wildlife isn’t safe for the animals or for you.
What You Can Do
Be a smart wildlife watcher and help keep wildlife wild.
- Never feed the wildlife.
- Store your food and stash your trash. You may unintentionally feed wildlife by leaving trash or crumbs behind. Be sure to clean up after yourself after meals and practice Leave No Trace principles.
- Give the animals room. Always keep a safe distance when watching wildlife. Check with park rangers for recommended minimum distances.
Want more wildlife viewing tips? Learn the 7 ways to safely watch wildlife.
Pass It On!
Did you learn something new? Pass it on! Protecting our parks and the wildlife in them is a job for us all. The next time you see a fellow animal lover thinking of sharing their snacks, you can fill them in and assure them it’s okay to admit – “I didn’t know that!”
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