By Kaitlynn Nordal
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Kamsack Times
Conservation officers around Saskatchewan want to remind people that they should not feed wildlife.
One of the biggest concerns for those who work in conservation when it comes to feeding is habituation.
“When animals associate food with humans, they become habituated. They lose their fear of people. This is a concern because they are wild animals. They are unpredictable. When they are not scared of people, and you don’t know what they are going to do, it becomes dangerous to people,” said Travis Hurd, a conservation officer for the Kamsack area.
There are also concerns for property damage if deer are eating in town, as they will find the ornamental trees and start chewing on branches, which raises more complaints.
“It’s a chain reaction event,” said Hurd.
This time of year, there is an increase in people feeding deer in town.
“They mean well. It comes from a good place,” said Hurd. “People feed the deer thinking it’s helping them, but it’s almost doing the reverse.”
This is because in colder months, deer’s metabolism slows, allowing them to thrive on less.
“Deer have adapted to survive in the cold,” explained Hurd.
When deer’s metabolism slows, they feed on things such as twigs and bark.
“The deer might look like it’s starving because you can see their ribs (but) they are actually in perfectly good health. That’s what they are designed to be doing right now,” said Hurd.
At this time, when people are feeding them, it changes their diet in ways that can be detrimental.
“In those months when they are equipped to be eating the branches and bark, but when they are introduced a carbohydrate-rich food, it has an adverse effect,” said Hurd.
Because of the carbohydrates that they should not be eating at the time deer get a bloat called Rumen Acidosis.
“When they get these high caloric and carbohydrate foods during the months when their bodies aren’t equipped to handle that bloat, it’s fatal to them,” said Hurd.
Due to this, deer have been found by stables and pens because of Rumen Acidosis.
“They got in, ate the grain, hay, or whatever it was that they were feeding the cattle. It (then) led to this bloat and was fatal. It’s that sort of stuff that’s the issue,” said Hurd.
If animals are being fed by humans too much, they can lose their ability to hunt and scavenge.
“This goes hand in hand with habituation, especially for younger animals,” said Hurd. “It’s a learned ability.”
“We see this in the campgrounds, for example, with bears. You see a mum and cubs coming through (and) the sow finds goods in trash cans or campsites,” continued Hurd. “The cubs are learning that, and they have associated humans with food sources; they lose that natural ability, which has a negative effect.”
When wild animals are congregated in the same area because of a food source, it increases the risk of diseases spreading as well.
“Rabies is a real risk to pets and people in town,” said Hurd.
“It has all these negative impacts that are more possible when they are congregated in one spot because of a food source,” continued Hurd.
The animal will then lose this natural ability.
“They are losing their ability to forage and browse because the food is available, so they are taking the easiest route. It has the opposite effect of what people are intending. They are feeding (them) because they are trying to help, but in reality, they are making things worse,” said Hurd.
There are also safety consequences for those living in towns or cities when animals get too used to being fed by humans.
“Wild animals are unpredictable,” said Hurd. “You don’t know what they are going to do if you are walking down the pavement with your dog and you come across some deer. Those animals bring predators, too.”
There are also the safety aspect of animals crossing the highway to come into town.
“This becomes a risk. People hit deer on the highway all the time, injuring them, causing their demise, damage to their vehicles, (and) potentially injuring someone in the vehicle,” said Hurd.
Hurd also wants to remind people to clean up attractants as a way to keep animals out of town.
“Discourage them from coming into town to feed by cleaning up attractants,” said Hurd. “People keep bird feeders out year-round, but if you find that deer have found it and they keep coming round, maybe remove that attractant until they move on.”