Please do not feed the wildlife – including the fish
August 2, 2011
When visiting Memory Gardens, you’re almost sure to notice the geese, ducks, deer, and other wildlife that have made these grounds their home. And while, out of compassion for our furry friends, you might want to feed them, please don’t. In trying to help them survive, you will be doing these creatures more harm than good. Here’s why:
- People who feed wild animals inadvertently teach them to rely on humans for food. Because animals might not fully develop their essential foraging skills, they will struggle to survive in the absence of this artificial food source. The chance of starvation will be greatly heightened in the colder months when fewer people visit the Gardens and natural food sources are scarcer.
- Animals fed by humans commonly lose their fear of people, which can weaken their natural self-perseveration instinct. Animals that are unafraid of people can sometimes be mistaken as rabid or overly-aggressive. Also, they are further exposed to even more predators than normal, upsetting the balance of nature.
- The food humans typically feed wild animals in not nutritionally balanced for them. Opportunistic wildlife will concentrate on the most readily available food source. Just like humans, wild animals need a variety of foods, but will not stay healthy if they fill up on “people food.” This is essentially like feeding them “junk food.”
- A constant, human-provided food source attracts even more wildlife than normal for an area. Many wild animals do not interact with others of their own species except during mating season and when raising their young. Readily-available food draws abnormally large numbers of wild animals. If one is carrying an illness or disease, it can easily spread to and destroy many others.
- Feeding wildlife can dangerously increase reproduction. Wildlife population is directly related to the amount of natural food available. When an artificial food source becomes available, animals will produce more offspring. This overpopulation results in more animals living in an area than natural food sources can support.
- Unlike humans, wildlife do not dispose of their waste. The more wildlife present and the more food they eat, the more droppings they will leave throughout the Gardens.
Fish are wildlife too
The ponds at Memory Gardens are stocked with koi, which are ornamental varieties of domesticated common carp. These colorful creatures help decorate and maintain the environment of our ponds. When introducing these fish to our ponds, Memory Gardens assumed the responsibility for their care. This includes providing them a healthy environment in which they can live and thrive.
Koi are an omnivorous fish that eat a wide variety of foods, including peas, lettuce, watermelon, and just about anything we might be tempted to toss them. However, good-intentioned admirers who feed the koi such “people food” endanger these fish and the ponds. Excess food will turn into ammonia and phosphates and can cause serious algae and other water quality problems. Unlike other fish, koi produce much more waste, which becomes ammonia that can kill them and the ponds. Further, overfeeding koi can generate harmful and overwhelming bacteria that endanger the koi and ponds.
Koi are a fast-growing fish, so overfeeding them increases their size enormously. This tremendously strains the ponds’ oxygen and other nutrients, on which other wildlife depend. Just like with humans, overfeeding koi can result in obesity and consequent health problems.
Enjoy watching these pleasant residents glide about the waters. And enjoy watching the other wildlife that roam about. But please – for the sake of these animals and the Gardens – do not feed them.
For more information about wildlife, please visit http://www.paws.org/