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Biodegradable apple cores that he was feeding to birds? I think that hardly qualifies.
by heartsucker 10y ago
Biodegradable apple cores that he was feeding to birds? I think that hardly qualifies.
- cr1895 10y agoWell, ideally "leave no trace" and "don't mess with wildlife" are adhered to when in nature edit: it's also illegal in national parks, carrying up to a $5000 fine and six months in jail
- heartsucker 10y agoYes, I have spent a lot of time out in nature and parks, and I generally am aware of not leaving a trace or litter. However, with something like a banana peel, I'd rather it end up as tree food the in a landfill, so I usually toss them in bushes.
- eseehausen 10y agoThe issue is that leaving food for the animals alters their behavior and can cause issues. You're probably not the worst offender wherever you are, as there are many people who just give food to animals, but the argument would be that it contributes to the problem.
- gerbilly 10y agoActually banana peels and orange peels don't biodegrade that fast in a north American forest. Apple cores I think might not be too bad to toss, ants can eat that up in a day or two. I pack out the peels of any tropical fruit.
- waterphone 10y agoPlease don't do that with banana or orange peels, they remain present for a long time. I have no problem personally with people tossing apple cores in more remote, little-visited areas (though it still makes sense to crack down on such things a bit more in heavily visited areas like National Parks) but various peels don't rot well and remain in place.
- seszett 10y agoI'm not sure about Yosemite or even nature in the US so maybe this wouldn't be an issue, but even biodegradable things like apple cores or egg shells can spread diseases to local populations of trees or birds. That's a real thing to take into account in natural parks with endemic species at least.
- heartsucker 10y agoHuh. I didn't know. Do you have a link on that?
- seszett 10y agoI don't have a link though, it's just something that was been repeated at length by the Natural Reserve agents and the ecobiologists to the personnel and visitors while I was on Kerguelen island (precisely about apple cores and egg shells - most of the vegetation is actually in the same Rosaceae family as apple trees, and there are many local bird species). It makes sense to me, seeing how a single disease like chestnut blight or phylloxera can be very devastating to a population on a whole continent, it could be both as bad but also less noticeable in a natural park.
- emiliobumachar 10y agoWell, there are seeds in it...
- nommm-nommm 10y agoIn the very least it's unsightly. Thousands of people go to Yosemite, imagine if every one of them dropped food debris along the trail.