In Nature, Sharing Is Not Always Caring

“Please do not feed the animals.” Signs with this familiar message are scattered across all of the parks managed by Sépaq (Société des Établissements de Plein Air du Québec), as well as many other places in the province. The rule might seem draconian to many: can one little piece of fried chicken really harm that magnificent fox just metres away? Unfortunately, however good your intentions, sharing your lunch with wildlife does them no good.

Nature is a well-oiled machine, and animals are adapted to their environment. They know where to find their food. They are in excellent physical shape, which allows them to catch prey and escape predators.

Around 2010 a vixen and her kits took up residence near a busy beach in the Parc national du Bic. People watched them with understandable fascination. Bit by bit, the mother fox got used to the presence of humans and soon began begging for food. A few months later, all the members of her little family were doing the same. Human beings were no longer a threat; they’d become a source of food. Now the park’s management has to deal with this situation, which threatens the foxes’ survival. The little family has become dependent on being fed. If we stop feeding them, they’ll likely no longer be able to find food on their own.

In 2006 wolves became a problem in the Parc national du Mont-Tremblant. They’d become so accustomed to humans that Hugues Tennier, head of the conservation and education department, had to develop an intervention protocol. “People were leaving food out in the hopes of attracting and spotting a wolf,” he explains. Wolves began to frequent spaces used by park visitors, from which they’d pilfer food and objects. Once, a wolf even stole a child’s beach ball in broad daylight. With human safety endangered, park management unfortunately had no choice but to shoot the most fearless of the wolves.

With time and a sound strategy, the Parc national du Mont-Tremblant was able to remedy the problem, and wolves now keep their distance again. A key component of the park’s approach was to raise visitor awareness of the negative consequences of leaving food behind in natural environments.

With that in mind, here’s some advice for your next trip to a national park, or hike through the woods, to help prevent wild animals from becoming habituated to human beings. After all, we’re often their greatest danger.