For the sake of feathered and furry wildlife, don’t feed them, warns the city’s ecological specialist.
Signs will be posted next week at popular city park areas like Bower Ponds and McKenzie Trails explaining why feeding waterfowl and animals is bad for them.
“People think if they’re feeding a gosling, they are giving it a head start, an advantage. But really you are not,” said Ken Lehman, the city’s parks planning and ecological specialist.
“When you feed an animal, you’re taking away that natural mechanism to learn how to forage, find food for itself, avoid predation. So really, you’re debilitating that animal.”
As recent as last year, the pavilion at Bower Ponds sold food for waterfowl. This spring, it was replaced with information posted to discourage feeding.
Lehman said the city wants to guard against the problems other cities are seeing in regards to wildlife.
He said waterfowl that are hand-fed lose their natural fear of humans and can lead to overcrowding and aggression towards other birds, humans and pets.
It also disrupts natural migration patterns. Plants and habitat are damaged through over gazing. Bird feces can impact water quality and lead to algal bloom.
Over population can lead to disease-causing organisms like salmonella and giardia, which have the potential to impact human health.
And if wildlife become a nuisance, they may have to be moved or killed.
Not feeding the animals protects them and the city’s park system, Lehman said.
“We want to educate people that it’s so important to connect with nature. It’s good to get out there and see it but you just have to respect the animal’s space.”
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com