Don't Feed The Animals! - Los Alamos Daily Post

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Don’t do this! Someone recently left an early morning snack for deer at one of the parks on North Mesa. Feeding wildlife non-natural foods can lead to severe consequences not only for the animals but for humans and their pets. Courtesy photo

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

There’s been some bad behavior going on in Los Alamos and local wildlife are suffering the consequences. Clandestine feedings of deer in local parks, rubbish being entangled in bucks’ antlers and even a plastic tub encasing one deer’s entire head are just some examples of wildlife suffering from human carelessness.

While the presence of deer in Los Alamos is not a new issue, New Mexico Game and Fish Conservation Officer Ariel Perraglio said she thinks that the calls to the Game and Fish Department regarding issues with wildlife, particularly deer, have increased.

New Mexico Game and Fish Communications Director Tristanna Bickford pointed out that while there is no law against feeding deer in New Mexico, there is a law against creating nuisance wildlife. If people or property are being harmed, this can be interpretated as creating a nuisance.

There are several reasons why humans feeding deer leads to trouble.

According to the New Mexico Game and Fish, these reasons include:

• Feeding deer can attract unwanted guests such as deer’s main predator, mountain lions. Having these predators around is life threatening to humans, pets and the mountain lions themselves. Mountain lions will be destroyed if they start attacking people or domesticated animals.
• Feeding deer disrupts natural feeding behaviors. It encourages them to crowd into small areas where they are more likely to be chased by dogs, attract predators, get hit by cars and contract diseases and parasites, some of which can be passed on to pets and people.
• Eating non-natural foods ruins a deer’s digestive system and leads to nutritional deficiencies, poor condition and death.

Bickford said New Mexico Game and Fish does educational outreach to spread awareness of the effects human interaction has on wildlife.

“The Department of Game and Fish does a lot of public outreach activities,” she said. “This year Department biologists and conservation officers have done two virtual webinars on bears and feeding wildlife and we have done quite bit of in person outreach and educational posts on social media as well.”

Bickford said the New Mexico Game and Fish can be found on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

If anyone suspects that people or property have been harmed by wildlife, suggesting that the animal has become a nuisance, Bickford encourages calling the local officer or the Operation Game Thief Hotline, 800.432.4263. The line is available 24 hours a day and calls can be made anonymously. Bickford said each case is handled differently.

While there might be a spike in calls regarding nuisances with wildlife, Bickford said there hasn’t been a spike in deer population in the state.

“The population has been staying pretty steady … we manage all wildlife populations especially big game like elk and deer through hunting licenses,” she said.

Hunters can apply for a license to hunt deer in March, Bickford said. The number of licenses is determined by a conservation officer and biologist. For more information about the draw hunt system, visit: https://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/hunting/applications-and-draw-information/

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