MILL CREEK METROPARKS | Good reasons NOT to feed park wildlife

MILL CREEK METROPARKS

Interacting with wildlife

Hillary Lenton, a naturalist with the park’s Ford Nature Center, was on hand Sunday at the Lily Pond to discuss its offerings and proposed improvements. She also warned against feeding wildlife, which causes problems such as:

Poor nutrition: Bread and other processed foods lack vital nutrients for good health.

Disease: Feeding often encourages overcrowding of ducks and geese in small areas, which can promote the spread of life-threatening illnesses.

Loss of instincts: Feeding ducks and geese often causes them to resist their natural instincts to migrate, lose their natural fear of people and become aggressive.

Contaminated water: Unhealthful amounts of bird droppings, as well as uneaten bread, change a body of water’s nutrient levels, which can kill fish and disrupt the water’s natural ecosystem.

Property damage: Abnormally high numbers of geese and ducks often damage golf courses, residential lawns and parks by grazing and defecating on grass.

The possibility of contracting rabies: Wild animals such as raccoons, chipmunks and squirrels also lose their innate fear of humans, which increases the likelihood that they can bite and spread rabies, parasites and other diseases.

Source: Mill Creek MetroParks