Signs reading ‘don’t feed the animals’ serve a vital purpose, helping to ensure that wild creatures don’t become dependent on well-meaning human benefactors.
Cyrillic Squirrel
Now we know who’s been feeding squirrels in San Francisco’s ritzy Inner Sunset district: Anglos, Hispanics, Russians and Chinese. Seems everyone else follows the rules and as such, there’s no need for other language-specific “No Feeding” signs and… wait a minute, Russians? Must’ve finally come down from that Hill of theirs. (images at top via Christopher Warren and above via pablo_marx)
No Desert, We’re Dieting
Bad enough we can’t smoke the Camels, now we can’t feed ’em either. What is this world coming to?! Among other things, a place where there’s less incidence of lung cancer and fewer obese camels so we’ve got that going for us, which is nice. Would you walk a mile to get there? (image via Justin Henry)
Copyrat Issues
You’ve heard the expression “monkey see, monkey do”? This is like that, except with rats instead of monkeys – not exactly an improvement but still. We therefore urge one and all to do as the sign says, be a positive role model for our rodent buddies, refrain from feeding the pigeons and squirrels, and discourage unauthorized food distribution by overgrown mice. (image via Neubie)
Magically Nutriatious
Speaking of rats (or relatives thereof), nutria are semi-aquatic rodents native to South America but destructively invasive to much of the rest of the world. So do as the sign says and don’t feed them! One can, on the other hand, feed ON them… nutria meat is said to share a similar taste profile to pork or turkey, and they can weigh up to 20 lbs each! So EAT MOAR NUTRIA – and help save the local environment, gobble after gobble, from these rodents of unusual size. (image via Nazianzus)
No Quarter Pounder
Here’s yet another example of tourists behaving badly; this time by feeding cheeseburgers (or macarons, or curling stones, it’s difficult to tell) to animals. Odd that such a thing is happening way down south on the Brazil-Paraguay border. Odder still, is that area residents enjoy curling while snacking on French-inspired McConfections, and evidently the local wildlife want in on it. Sweeeep! (image via Ville Miettinen)
Zookeeper friends don’t let animal friends graze on crudités er, veggie trays. Check out Crunch Time: 10 ‘Do Not Feed The Animals’ Zoo Signs!
