The surprising reason why US National Parks prohibit visitors from feeding wildlife during winters

The joy of visiting a zoo or a national park is truly unmatched—the excitement of witnessing wild animals up close can be exhilarating and surreal. However, what many visitors don't realize is that feeding animals can be far more dangerous than it appears. Although the idea of bonding with the wild animals by offering food seems harmless, it poses risks for both the animals as well as the visitors. Foreseeing the possible risks, the US National Parks' officials have shared a strict warning for people visiting the parks, especially in the winter. 

In their public statement, the officials wrote, "We want to remind the public that feeding wildlife in the park is not allowed. Human food is not healthy for wild animals. When animals eat human food, they stop eating the nutrients they need to survive. They can come to rely on humans and stop hunting, foraging, or scavenging as they naturally would." Further, they also revealed that feeding animals in the park is illegal and would result in a whooping penalty. "It is also illegal to feed wildlife in the park under the Code of Federal Regulations 36 § 2.2 (a)(2). The violation carries a $300 violation notice/fine," the official statement read. 

Apart from increasing dependency on humans, feeding wildlife can also make them sick and spread diseases, as per a report in IFL Science. Additionally, feeding animals human food can make some wild creatures more aggressive, as they start approaching people in search of a meal. This increased aggression leads to dangerous situations. While many animals might not pose a threat to humans in other situations, their growing reliance on and tolerance for human food can become a dangerous gamble, leading to unpredictable and potentially risky encounters. So, the next time you visit a zoo or national park, pause and reconsider before trying to feed the animals.

It's not just zoo animals one needs to be concerned about. Even before feeding stray dogs or cats, one must carefully consider what they are giving them. Many believe offering human food to animals is harmless, but it's actually far from being safe. However, there can be some exceptions. On a related note, a man, Ikram Korkmazer from Turkey, won hearts on social media for offering tasty meat scraps to every stay dog and cat that visits his doorstep. Interestingly, Korkmazar's love and inclination towards strays made him even name his store after the first stray he fed from his counter, as reported by The Epoch Times. The man named his store, Yeşim Meat Gallery, to honor  Yeşim the cat, who motivated Korkmazar to start this gratifying tradition of feeding strays.

"I was feeding her (Yeşim) when she gave birth to a kitten, she started bringing it to my workplace—they came together. She would stand on two legs, look at the meat on the counter and ask for meat. She started to come to ask for food five or six times a day, standing on two legs. She wanted mostly spleen, heart, kidney and loved beef," the man recalled. Notably, even after Yeşim the cat got sick and died, her kitten continued to visit Korkmazer's store for years in pursuit of the treats it had enjoyed since birth. Following this, other street cats caught on and began coming to Yeşim Meat Gallery looking for some tasty meat scraps.