Upon entering the gate at Hartstene Pointe, there is a sign, "Please do not feed the wild animals". " Why?" You ask. "They are so tame and if I hold out my hand they come and eat from it. I just love feeding them". Well, it's time to let you know why that sign is there, and to point out that feeding the wild animals is a form of animal cruelty. And, yes, if you feed them you are loving them to an early death.

Let me start with the deer. The normal diet for the deer is leaves, some grasses, wild berries and wild fruit. Their digestive enzymes and bacteria are designed to cope with these foods. These foods also provide a source of water for them. Deer are "foraging" animals, which means their waking hours are spent wandering through the forest searching for food, and yes, nibbling on their way. Besides providing them with nourishment and exercise, this foraging is also providing them with intellectual stimulation. This is what they do for a living. When I volunteered at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, the keepers would hide morsels of food for the animals for their "enrichment". It keeps them stimulated and occupied. Deer also are born with a fear of humans. This is a good thing. It keeps them away from us, and us away from them. When we feed them, they then associate us with food, the natural instinct for avoidance ends, and they become at the least a nuisance and at the most aggressive toward us. Last year in Yosemite National Park a child was killed by a charging deer, because he wouldn't share his sandwich with the deer. Do we want our deer charging our children? I have been told that there are some people here who are going to the farm supply and purchasing "COB", which is a mixture of corn, oats, barley and molasses. This is the food that is designed to fatten up cattle before they are slaughtered. Deer cannot digest this food, so it acts as a laxative, goes right through them, dehydrates them and eventually causes them to die of starvation and dehydration. When they eat this stuff, they get a "full" feeling, so they stop browsing and eating the food that is good for them. They also get "bored" as they no longer have the need to browse, so they do what bored people do - they get into trouble. They will head butt each other, charge each other, and if a human is in their way they will charge them too. Bored deer are dangerous deer. Please do not feed the deer.

Raccoons are rodents and their natural diet, (besides our garbage), is mice, shrews, moles, wild fruits and berries. They also eat carrion (dead birds, dead fish etc.). They have a digestive system that is able to metabolize these foods that would make us sick. They have a job to do and that is to help us keep our beaches and forest clean. They also have very sharp teeth, and can take off your finger or fingers with little effort. They are mean and can be aggressive. They also carry rabies, have ticks and fleas that carry Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and the Hanta virus. They will kill cats and small dogs. You do not want them around your house, so don't feed them, and especially don't let them eat out of your hands. It is very dangerous. Make sure that any pet food is in a "raccoon proof" container and no pet food is left outside. They can tear into a pet food sack in an instant. You do not want them anywhere near your house. Just like the deer, if you feed them they will lose their natural fear of humans and associate humans with food. They are extremely aggressive and will attack, especially small children, if there is food around.

Foxes. The normal diet for a fox is worms, mice, wild fruits and berries, birds' eggs and yes, an occasional bird. They love foraging and hunting. It keeps them occupied. People food will kill them, especially bread which doesn't provide any nourishment for them and hot dogs, which are way too high in sodium for them. I have seen foxes in the woods eating this stuff, and they've got to be getting it from somewhere. If you want to raise food for the foxes, go buy a pound of worms, sprinkle them around your plants and the worms will help till the soil, multiply and provide the foxes and birds with food.

During the summer months there is plenty of food in our woods for the wild animals, and if there ever isn't enough here, they will go and find food outside the gates. This is a good thing; it keeps them healthy, exercising, and occupied. Having said this there may be something you can do for the wild animals. On very dry summers (this summer doesn't qualify) they may need a little help with water. If you seriously want to help them, take a large bucket into the woods, at least 100 feet from any residence, and every day fill it with fresh water. If we have a particularly hard winter, think snow, once a week you could cut an apple into 8 pieces and go into the woods and "hide" each piece at least 10 feet away from each other, and again, at least 100 feet from any residence. Do not stay in the woods to see if the animals come to drink or eat. The idea is to let them discover the water or food and not associate it with humans.

Please, help to keep our wild animals wild. Do not love them to death.

Garby Elmore

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