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» Don't feed
the wildlife
ARTICLES, SPEECHES AND OTHER READING
GRAY AREA from the Phuket Gazette
DON'T FEED THE WILDLIFE - Phuket Gazette February 2006
Ling Luv
"You don't have to feed the local wildlife to take photos of them in their
natural state. This shot was taken from only three meters away, no bananas
included!
FEEDING WILDLIFE
National Parks are not zoos. In theory, park animals live their natural
lives undisturbed by human intervention, roaming free with their families,
foraging where they can. When humans observe wildlife, we must understand
wildlife sightings are serendipity. If you want a guaranteed sighting, go
visit a jail for animals - it's called a "Zoo".
Ecotourists understand the game - we don't always doesn't see wildlife, but
that's the trade-off for allowing them freedom and a natural lifestyle.
Unfortunately for Thailand's wildlife, business operators with no concept of
Nature and no interest in properly training their staff often organize
"nature" tours. With no natural resources background, owners don't even
understand the issues - but with money to be made, who cares?
Training staff might lead to a decent salary. Freelance sea canoeing guides
get B150-250/day - make sure you bring your own lunch. Combining low pay and
an untrained guide is just inviting problems. An unknowing tourist might
give a tip worth two days wages if they can feed a monkey,
This short-term thinking hurts the wildlife, and the people of Thailand.
The day I first witnessed monkey feeding in Phang Nga Bay, a client said he
was bitten in Thailand sixteen years earlier - and hadn't returned since. He
only returned for our reputation for safety - and now other companies were
feeding monkeys around him!
We once declined a Sierra Club group to kayak in Talin. They were shocked,
until I saw them at the next stop - white faced, still shaking days later.
No bites, but the environmentalists were physically molested and intimidated
- in tight mangrove channels where kayaks offer no escape. That was five
years ago, and they haven't been back since.
Well-traveled tourists learn from national parks experiences worldwide.
Feeding bears in Yellowstone or primates in South Africa is just asking for
trouble.
So what's wrong with feeding wildlife?
"W-I-L-D-L-I-F-E" says it all. Wild animals can be dangerous at any moment.
When is the greatest threat? When protecting their young, and protecting
"their" food. Feed wildlife and you automatically increase the risk of
attack.
There are three basic problems with feeding wild animals.
First, when we habituate them to human contact, we increase risk for both
parties. Animals risk being eaten by the ultimate predator - humans.
Increased human contact also increases the incidence of attacks on humans -
especially when food is involved.
Second, the food we offer is usually unnatural. There are no banana trees on
Koh Penak and frozen peas don't grow for reef fish. Wild diets are often
highly specialized, and altered diets are usually harmful.
Third, constant feeding makes animals dependent upon the easy human supply
chain. Families forget how to forage. Clever and resourceful species turn
into beggars, with negative effects on family culture.
Two more downsides surfaced from Koh Penak observations.
First, formerly close-knit families turn on each other while fighting for
handouts.
Second, there are now injuries we've never seen before. One female had an
open and infected bite wound on her elbow - a death sentence in the wild. An
adolescent has a broken arm suffered in a banana fight. Catching or darting
the macaque to get it to a vet is virtually impossible in Penak's sharp
limestone, so it will die an even slower death.
We've known this family for sixteen years, and these first-ever injuries
came with banana feeding. Last year's playful siblings now fight over
scraps.
Silence is the price we pay to see our relatives. They aren't always there,
but when we work for a sighting, rewards are always greater. My most
memorable Penak experience was talking a macaque down a 300-meter cliff to
converse with eye contact - the macaque in a tree just above my guests - and
no bananas.
Solutions are easy.
First, National Parks can enforce the law. Rangers tell us feeding Park
wildlife carries a B2,000 fine, but they are so busy collecting entry fees
there is no manpower for enforcement. Slapping a few fines might stop
macaque feeding immediately.
Next, we cannot blame the unaware just because owners don't train them.
Licensing guides in National Parks is vital, including wildlife and
environmental training. Whatever happens now isn't working.
On-pier signage in all major languages leads to self-enforcement - including
signs right on the beach at Monkey Bay near Phi-Phi. Generally, when people
understand, they care.
Finally, educate tourists coming to Thailand. In-flight movies and airport
signage promote and protect Thailand's wildlife. None of these solutions is
expensive - especially when it's your child bitten by those decimeter-long
macaque canines.
Ultimately, simply follow the "Nature Ethic" all Ecotourists embrace.
Just leave things as they are and move on. |
