Please don’t feed the animals

In Florida, there’s a good chance you’ll get the opportunity to see wildlife, even if you live in an urban area.

Raccoons, as well as a variety of other animals such as bears, alligators, coyotes and foxes, have been seen in back yards and strolling through neighborhoods.

Many people enjoy feeding wildlife because it allows them to have contact with these animals. Folks also think they are helping the critters survive, especially in an urban area. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

"Wild animals come into neighborhoods because there is available food, water and shelter," said Anni Mitchell, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist in Lake City. "If these conditions didn’t exist, the animals wouldn’t be there. Animals have survived for a very long time without people feeding them. They can continue to survive without intervention."

There are quite a few problems that can develop when people feed wildlife. Experts believe recent attacks on children by coyotes in California may be the result of homeowners unintentionally luring wildlife to their yards by leaving pet bowls outside or not securing garbage can lids.

When wild animals begin to depend on humans for food, their foraging skills can deteriorate. This could impact their survival, according to Mitchell. However, animals are opportunistic and will go to the most convenient food source available.

"Who doesn’t like a free meal?" Mitchell asked. "A huge problem with this is that animals can gather in larger numbers than normal for this food. If one animal in the group has an illness or disease, it can spread throughout the group."

"Another problem is that the food being fed to animals is usually inadequate nutritionally," Mitchell said. "This ‘people food’ is ‘junk food’ for animals."

Reproduction rates may also be affected when people feed wildlife. In nature, the number of animals being born is often directly related to the amount of natural food available. The number of animals surviving will also depend on how much food is available.

"This is nature's way of ensuring there are not too many animals in one area," Mitchell said. "When humans provide food, animals may produce more young, and soon there may be more animals living in the area than what the natural food sources can support. If that food source is no longer available, animals may starve to death. This gives them no other option than to take food from people."

The FWC receives many calls from people whose neighbors have been feeding wild animals. Often, the animals have become nuisances, and the caller wants to kill or remove them.

"Many people don’t think about the repercussions when they start feeding wildlife. Wild animals begin to associate all humans with food and will often start pestering other neighbors," Mitchell said. "The animals can also cause damage to homes and property because they expect to be fed and have lost their fear of people."

When fed animals become a nuisance, people often want someone to relocate the animal in a humane way. This is an unwise and often illegal solution that doesn't solve the real problem, but creates new ones -- it moves the nuisance to a different location and puts relocated animals at additional risk in unfamiliar areas.

The impulse to offer food is natural. But a fed critter can end up a dead critter. Bear problems have increased as more people have moved into bear habitat. Often, people feed bears inadvertently by failing to close garbage can lids securely or by giving them handouts. Sometimes these bears must be killed, because people who live in or near bear habitat do not recognize their responsibility to make sure they don't attract the bears.

"Anyone who really loves animals and wants them to survive can help by discouraging people from feeding wildlife," Mitchell said. "People can also help by viewing wildlife from a distance. This is beneficial to both the animal and the person watching … critters can bite.

"For example, that deer that eats out of your hand isn’t tame. It’s bold. But deer have razor-sharp hooves and antlers and can hurt or kill with a strike," she said.

"For both your safety and the well-being of the animal, please don’t feed wildlife," Mitchell said.