One attraction that has been a staple at our fair is the Jungle Island Zoo, due to the ability to get close to the animals and feed them. Some other places, like the African Safari Wildlife Park in Port Clinton, actively encourage the visitors to feed the animals.
However, in most places, the age-old phrase “do not feed the animals” still persists, and with good reason. Zoos like the Toledo Zoo or Columbus Zoo prohibit feeding the animals (with the exception of the giraffes) out of concern for the animal’s nutrition. Zoo animals are fed a carefully prepared diet by zookeepers, and they really don’t need extra junk food provided by visitors, which could make them sick.
However, the worst possible place to feed an animal is in national parks. Animals living in national parks naturally fear humans, so constant feeding will cause them to lose that fear and act abnormally in more ways than one. In national parks that have bears, such as Yellowstone or the Great Smokey Mountains, people food-conditoned bears to become overly aggressive and dangerous, and have to be put down.
In short, let the zoo animals have what they get from the keepers, and wild animals are content with nature’s bounty.
Thomas Miller Huffman
Lima
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