photo by Andy Marks
NEVER FEED WILDLIFE!
So what is the significance of this statement?
THERE IS GREAT SIGNIFICANCE, a significance that goes beyond the “common sense” reasons.
Katy Payne in her book Silent Thunder, writes “I was thinking about what is lost when wildness is lost, and realizing that habituation is not just a slight modification of wild nature. It is a huge step toward tameness, in which all kinds of odd circumstances are accepted as normal.” Feeding wildlife leads to habituation.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE TAKE SOMETHING AWAY FROM WILD BEINGS WHEN WE FEED THEM…..we take away Respect!
Mary Oliver writes, “It makes impossible the other view of nature, which is of a realm both sacred and intricate, as well as powerful, of which we are no more than a single part.”
So look into the eyes of this truly wild Coyote …..
SO WHY IS BAITING WILDLIFE TO MAKE IT EASY TO KILL THEM…..LEGAL? As biologists we are always encouraging our communities not to feed wildlife ….and that means wild birds and Seagulls….and yet feeding bears dunkin’ donuts, and luring Coyotes toward huge bait piles of none other than the remains of farm animals bodies…is all legal?
THE WILD COYOTE PEERING OUT AT YOU FROM THIS PHOTO IS ASKING YOU “WHY?”
