HEAR: Wyo Wildlife Advocate, Don’t Feed Animals In Your Back Yard
Recently a Jackson Wyoming woman was cited for feeding bears in her back yard. Federal investigators decided not to pursue charges against her.
The question was raised, once again, are we really helping if we feed wild animals?
There was a time that Yellowstone National Park actually encouraged tourist the feed the animals, even the bears, up close, by hand. But they soon began to see the mountain of problems.
We want them close to our homes so we can watch them. They look hungry so we help by throwing out some scraps.
But according to Kristin Combs, Executive Director of WY Wildlife Advocates, much of the food humans toss out is actually good for humans, but bad for these animals. Further complications rise as these animals become dependent on us. Plus some animals will get more curious and more aggressive as they move in closer looking for more food.
In the interview below, I asked about the big snow storm we just had and the pronghorn I see looking for food that has been buried deep below. Should I help them? Kristin then listed the digestive problems pronghorn have with what humans tend to toss their way, and, once again, the problems created when these animals become too dependent.
As tempting as it is, for numerous reasons, it is not good for man nor beast to feed the wild animals. Kristin knows that most people will either not hear her or not be able to resist temptation, but she will keep trying.
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