Don’t Feed the Pigeons
Situated along the waterfront, with spectacular views of both the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco’s iconic piers are one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations. But one constant in any visit to the piers, one universal experience, is being swarmed by hordes of pigeons a little too comfortable with humanity. These birds are willing to get up close and personal in search of snacks and treats, harassing families and solo travelers alike, and they always get what they’re after. The pigeons are undoubtedly well-fed and plump, in spite of signs posted to every vertical surface begging visitors:
Please Don’t Feed the Pigeons.
The ability to gather food, whether through hunting or foraging, is critical for an animal’s survival, and changing how and where that animal finds food can have knock-on effects. Giving a demanding pigeon some bread–or a sassy raccoon part of your sandwich–may feel like you’re doing the animal a favor, or that you’re getting closer to nature, but it can lead to habituation and overfamiliarity with humans. Habituation, or the loss of response to repeated stimuli, is a serious threat to an animal’s capacity to survive in the wild. It can also be a serious threat to the people encouraging and developing that habituation.
When an animal is given food outside of their normal, learned context for where food can be found, new behavioral patterns start to emerge. The first time this happens may not feel like a big deal, but as that behavior continues, the pattern is reinforced and becomes that animal’s new normal method for foraging. The first time a pigeon was given bread at the piers, the pigeon learned that bread could be found there. The second and third times, it learned that bread could be found there regularly, and potentially more reliably than foraging elsewhere.
This shift in resource-gathering is dangerous for the animal, bringing it out of normal habitat ranges and exposing it to foods that are likely to be significantly less healthy for it than usual. It can also change an animal’s comfort level with humans, a shift in behavior leading to increased proximity and more relaxed deportment around humans, seemingly echoing the laissez-faire attitudes the animal is surrounded by. For pigeons along the San Francisco Bay, this might look like aggressive flocks harassing the public. Annoying, but maybe not the biggest deal.*
It is a big deal for bears.
NPS/C Spencer
Being fed by passers-by, stealing food from hikers, or pawing through trash brings bears into far closer proximity to people than is healthy for either party. Human-habituated bears may seem docile and approachable–they may even let you come right up to them. But, it is important to keep in perspective that these are wild animals with clawed paws bigger than your head, and they will respond to human presence unpredictably, putting both you and the bear in danger. For a person, the consequences are obvious. Getting mauled is a generally negative experience. For the bear, in spite of their lack of control over the scenario, the consequences can be dire. Confinement, or likely euthanasia, is the result of these tragic interactions.
Thankfully, prevention is straightforward. Don’t approach bears, or any wild animal, without appropriate forethought, training, or planning. Avoid putting wildlife in these positions in the first place. They do not need, or want, the extra stress in their lives. And yes, that pigeon staring at you would love a piece of bread, but that doesn’t mean you should give it one. So, while you’re out and about in the wild and on the trail be careful and considerate of the wildlife with how you’re storing and handling your food. And please, don’t feed the pigeons.
*Still a big deal, but less obviously so, considering pigeons are not usually a violent threat to people. For exceptions, watch Hitchcock’s The Birds.
—Joe Schultz
