Wild and Free
by Joan McKee

ne night, a family near Kimberling City noticed a black bear by their house. The family put dog food on the deck so they could watch the animal up close. Then they decided to get an even closer view by setting the food just inside the back door. Soon the bear was eating off the coffee table in the living room.

The people got a close-up view of a wild animal, says Wildlife Damage Biologist Scott McWilliams, but in the process, the bear lost its fear of humans. The bear quit searching for its natural food, such as berries, nuts, insects, honey, birds' eggs, young fawns, mice and fish, and started hanging out with people instead of in the nearby woods. After it killed a neighbor's goats and scared other people, the bear had to be killed.

Feeding wild animals may seem like a nice thing to do, but it can have deadly results for the animal.

Feeding wild animals may seem like a nice thing to do, but it often has deadly results for the animal. In Kansas City, a man started feeding two raccoons on his deck. Soon 30 raccoons were at his back door looking for a handout. One or two raccoons can be cute, but a couple dozen hungry ones scratching at the back door demanding food can be frightening.

Even scarier is the number of animals that get sick from being fed by people. A couple of years ago, 25 out of 28 raccoons that were brought into the Lakeside Nature Center in Kansas City had distemper, a deadly disease.

In Colorado, people who are caught feeding large animals have to pay a $50 fine.

"When people feed wild animals," says Lakeside Naturalist Kevin Hogan, "too many animals move into the area. If one animal gets sick, the disease spreads quickly to the others."

Sometimes the food itself makes the animals sick. Deer, for example, have a four-part stomach designed to digest leaves, acorns, grass and fruits. When people feed them bread, candy or popcorn, the deer can't digest the food properly. Sometimes this junk food makes the wild animal's stomach stop working. When this happens, the animal gets sick and may die.

For young Canada geese, eating people food can cause permanent damage. Normally, goslings eat grass, which gives them all the vitamins and minerals they need to grow strong bones. But in parks, many people like to feed geese bread, popcorn and other unnatural food.

When young geese eat these foods instead of grass, their bones do not grow correctly. "Birds with deformed wingbones are unable to fly," says Wildlife Research Biologist Dave Graber, "and often are killed by dogs or other predators."

Sometimes people feed wild animals accidently. A family in the Ozarks discovered a black bear in their hot tub one evening. It was drinking the water because it had salt in it. Instead of making loud noises and scaring the bear back to its normal habitat, the family fed it sunflower seeds so it would stick around while they got their camera. After taking all the pictures they wanted, the people were ready for the bear to leave. But the bear just wanted more salt and sunflower seeds and kept coming back.

nimals live around people because their natural foods are nearby. It is fun to watch a couple of squirrels in a oak tree finding acorns to hide for the winter. It is not so much fun when people feed squirrels and bring too many into an area.

Feeding Canada geese can cause too many of them to gather in one area, which isn't good for the geese or the environment.

In Kimberling City, squirrels came from miles around to a neighborhood where people set out food. So many squirrels came that they didn't have enough trees to live in. Some of the squirrels gnawed their way into people's attics to find a warm, cozy home.

One squirrel also gnawed through some electrical wires and caused a fire. Not only did the squirrel family lose its home, but so did the people who lived downstairs. The neighborhood association quickly decided to outlaw feeding squirrels before another disaster took place.

In Colorado, people who are caught feeding large animals have to pay a $50 fine. Here's one reason why. According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, a family just outside of Denver started feeding foxes and deer in their yard. Soon mountain lions showed up to catch their favorite food--deer. Then cats and dogs began to disappear from people's yards. The mountain lion had to be trapped and killed to make the neighborhood safe again.

People who care about animals keep them wild, says McWilliams and the other biologists at the Conservation Department. They recommend watching animals where they live naturally instead of inviting too many of them into your space with food.

If you want to see small animals up close, plant trees, shrubs and other plants that produce natural food for the animals that live in your neighborhood. Invite wild animals to your yard naturally and you will get to watch healthy, happy wildlife. s

Joan McKee has planted walnut, mulberry and cherry trees in her backyard to keep the wildlife fed. She recently put in a small pond to provide them with water.