Yep. "A fed animal is a dead animal."
To give you an example, I was out in the heart of the Everglades in an airboat on Monday. In an area where commercial airboat tours operate, I spotted a medium-sized alligator (8-9 feet) sunning on the bank of a canal. As soon as I got close, he came into the water and swam right up to the boat (within 1 foot). He'd obviously been fed because alligators usually flee airboats.
A little further down the canal, we came upon a mother alligator with babies. The babies did the same thing -- swam to within inches of the boat. Again, that just doesn't happen in the wild.
And just a few yards further, I stopped because I spotted a Purple Gallinule in the bushes. Birders know Purple Gallinules as incredibly beautiful, but very shy, birds.
Gallinules walk on top of water plants, and that darn bird walked right over to the boat. He was soon joined by another gallinule, and then they both jumped onto our airboat! We had to chase them away.
I had a whole load of rangers on the boat, so we obviously were not feeding the wildlife. But somebody is.
I'd be willing to bet that within a few months, we'll have to go back out there and destroy that adult alligator because it has gotten too aggressive and has become a threat...all because people fed it to get a picture that was easy to get without feeding the animal. It won't be the first fed animal to be destroyed, and it won't be the last.
And that's just sad!
