Fox In Paradise

Day 260: I had driven up to Paradise (Mt. Rainier National Park) hoping to find Clark's Nutcracker on his customary patrol of the parking lot. Visitors are not supposed to feed the wildlife. In fact, the prohibition is posted quite clearly, but some folks just seem to be unable to read. Clark's was strolling around, scavenging tidbits from the family of five who had pulled up beside me, eating sandwich meat and mayonnaise and white bread, none of which are particularly healthful for a bird's digestion. Suddenly from the top of a snowbank, this grey-phase Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) streaked down and snatched a mouthful of bread, dog-walking between oncoming cars to eat it safely away from the humans. Several times, the fox climbed the snowbank and waiting for another handful of food to be thrown down. It came within mere feet of the adults, being chased (as were the birds) by the children. Eventually, the activity caught the eye of a ranger who came out of Jackson Visitor Center and gave the group a lecture on feeding the wildlife. I heard the father tell her, "My son just dropped it." I don't think the ranger was fooled for a minute.

Do not feed the wildlife! It does them no good to eat human food. Not only is it unhealthy for them, they may become dependent on handouts and lose their ability to survive the hard conditions imposed by winter.