Environmentalists are asking people to stop feeding waterfowl at local lakes and ponds, saying it causes more harm than good to the animals.
Biologists told Fox 25 that people have been dumping 50 pound bags of feed into Lake Hefner and other lakes around the metro, which is actually bad for both the animals and the environment.
John Rayfield, the Fishery Biologist for Oklahoma City says there are many people feeding the ducks.
"There's trash cans full of 50 pound bags of feed," Rayfield said. "Someone feeds and next thing you know, another person comes. It's at the point that those people that actually own the boat slips, they were having to clean their boats almost every day because just waste everywhere."
Experts say ducks and geese do not need to be fed by humans. Even food labeled for them is destructive to the health of wild ducks and the environment.
"Due to being fed, it changes their wild instincts, so they ended up looking for food from human food sources," said Martin Park Nature Center Head Naturalist, William Hagenbuck. "A lot of these animals and waterfowl do not move and end up getting stuck there. Or they end up being malnourished, where they end up having deformities where their wings they can't molt, they can't fly."
Feeding them also causes the animals to lose their fear of humans.
"So if anybody's ever experienced being attacked by a goose, that's what happens when we start feeding wildlife, and it leads to negative behaviors over time," Hagenbuck said.
Experts say it is best to leave nature alone, and enjoy it from afar.
"I know it's fun to go out and feed them, but once we change our wild ability, it ends up leading into them not be able to survive long term in the environment," said Hagenbuck.
They also warn people NOT to feed the waterfowl any type of human food like bread, crackers, or corn, because it is also harmful to them.
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