I have fond memories of feeding ducks with my parents at Michigan State…
watching their adorable beaks gobble up that stale, non-nutritious, moldy white bread.
Sigh.
Memories.
Hey pigeon people, Trace here for DNews.
Feeding wild animals has been seen as a “humanitarian movement” for decades.
In the late 19th century, Britain’s Dicky Bird Society (which is real) required members
to pledge to be kind to all living things, which even influenced kids to save crumbs
from meals so they could feed birds.
In WWI, it was recognized as our patriotic duty to feed birds so they could survive to
eat insects that threaten America's crops -- and therefore the war effort.
But is feeding wildlife beneficial to them?
Or you know, are we being oblivious and selfish humans once again?
TBH it depends on what you’re feeding them.
Feeding white bread to ducks is probably not a good idea.
It’s kind of like watching a 1-year-old smash their birthday cake and gobble it up
-- it might be fun to watch, but it really isn’t good for them.
White bread lacks nutritional value it’s just full of calories (yes, Scott.
Bread makes you fat).
What you end up with are bloated ducks who are too full to eat the natural and nutritious
food they’re supposed to be eating.
But fat ducks are far from the worst of it.
An unhealthy diet can lead birds to contract “angel wing” -- a deformity where their
wings are unnaturally twisted out instead of held against their body3.
Birds with angel wing can’t fly, and if they can’t fly, they can’t escape predators
or avoid hazards, like cars.
White bread also affects their habitat when uneaten.
These soggy carbs attract algae growth which can spread diseases and attract pests like
rats.
And this foul play isn’t just found with foul.
We need to stop feeding monkeys too.
A recent study in the Applied and Environmental Microbiology looked at our relationship with
green monkeys (that’s a species, it’s not actually green, though how cool would
that be?).
Humans not only gave monkeys peanuts, but in doing so, they also passed diseases.
Specifically, a bacterial infection called Staphylococcus aureus, that's science speak
for staph infection.
Remember how we learned we can contract diseases from animals?
Turns out it’s a two way street.
Samples of the bacteria were taken then tested from the noses of monkeys and humans.
Through a technique called “high-throughput sequencing,” results showed S. aureus was
indeed transmitted through human-to-monkey contact.
Though staph infection is relatively minor -- generally causing skin infections and boils
-- it can become serious for monkeys if it enters their bloodstream where it can cause
toxic shock syndrome.
It should be known that not all wildlife feeding is necessarily bad.
One recent study published in the Oxford Journals observed 6 sites in Chicago throughout the
course of about 3 years -- both with and without bird feeders.
They compared the bird’s stress levels, body condition, reproductive physiology, immunity,
and feather quality.
It turns out bird feeding “significantly influenced the health of the birds.”
But not all "influences" are positive.
Disease was more prevalent with bird feeders, but a majority of the birds seemed better
equipped to handle it based on their low stress levels and greater antioxidant capacity.
Of course, this is only one study in one specific part of the world.
When it comes to feeding wildlife because you think they might be hungry.
Just don't.
Wildlife has survived without humans since, well, the millions of years before humans.
We typically aren’t doing them any favors by giving them food.
But if you want to continue your duck feeding tradition, consider their diet.
Try feeding ducks defrosted peas, cut grapes, or even uncooked rice instead.
Now that you can keep your bird feeder do you want to show the whole world-wide-web
all the cool birds you’ve been seeing in your backyard?
Well, now you can with your own website!
No domain extension will help you tell your story like a DOT COM or DOT NET domain name.
And because you watch DNews, you can get 15% off Domain Dot Com’s names and web hosting
by using the code DNews when you check out.
What about feeding your own pets people food?
I talk about it about it in this video here.
Are there any other animal questions you’re curious about?