Comments on: Copper Mt. Coyote is a Reminder Not to Feed Wildlife

By: Ellen Smith for Oak Ridge » Please don’t feed the animals

Ellen Smith for Oak Ridge » Please don’t feed the animals — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:41:04 +0000

[...] 3. Feeding wildlife makes animals dependent on people, which can actually be detrimental to them when they stop seeking their usual food sources are move into human neighborhoods where they may fall prey to dogs, people, and vehicles. (Here’s an online article on the problems that feeding can cause deer and other animals.) Animals that have been fed by people get into the habit of expecting handouts from people and can become aggressive in seeking more of the same. (Here’s a cautionary story about a rogue coyote that had been fed by people.) [...]

By: Outdoorzy.com...blog

Outdoorzy.com...blog — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:00:48 +0000

[...] via Sierra Blogging Post [...]

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:49:11 +0000

You’re right, Beren. Animals are going extinct due to over development, deforestation, and polution. Other factors include large scout camps that don’t use proper camping equipment, i.e. bear-proof canisters and trash cans.

People and wildlife can coexist. http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bearcanisters.htm.

By: Allie Comeau

Allie Comeau — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:09:03 +0000

Thanks for commenting, Beren.

It’s sad — we’re the ones infringing on their territory and they’re the ones paying the price.

By: Beren

Beren — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:06:08 +0000

Pretty interesting. I was actually up in Copper this past Sunday. Unfortunately a lot of people don’t think about what they’re doing when they encounter wildlife. We had bears at the scout camp I worked at in Lake George, CO and required campers to remove their trash from the sites before nightfall, otherwise they could have a black bear in their tent some night. We brought all the trash out to a massive dumpster a couple miles away and would often see one or more bears picking through the refuse as we came to unload. They usually didn’t even regard us when we approached in the truck. Of course, every now and then a bear would still be spotted in camp and it was always a big deal. A lot of people seem to ignore the fact that we are infringing on these animals’ natural habitat. Of course, it always makes headlines when an animal attacks someone or their dog, but we rarely hear about the hundreds of species that are silently going extinct because of over development, deforestation and pollution.