You hear warnings all of the time about why you shouldn't feed wildlife like bison. One argument is that human food could make them sick. Another is that they'll get used to humans and that could lead to aggressive confrontations. But a video emerged showing one more reason.
In the video, a family driving through Olympic Game Farm in Clallam County, Washington, getting barraged with bison. It shows bison sticking their heads through the driver and passenger side windows, sticking their tongues out and licking them.
The caption says: "If you give a bison a bread slide, well, he might do this." Fortunately, it works out for the family. They were left laughing the entire time. The father yells: "Ahh! Give it to him! He's licking me!" And then they drive off while chuckling.
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In just two hours, the video has gained more than 12,000 views, 345 likes, and 22 comments. And the people commenting were just as lighthearted. "He's just trying to get a little lick or two," says sugnlasses9229. While supermomcarolyn68 called the incident: "That is so cool."
No, you shouldn't feed bison and most other wildlife
While the Olympic Game Farm allows visitors to feed the animals, that behavior is never permitted anywhere else. According to the National Park Service, you should never feed the wildlife.
On its website, the Park Service explained that feeding wildlife could have a domino effect on the ecosystem. "You may have the best intentions when you want to share your trail mix with a critter in a park but feeding wildlife is dangerous," the Park Service said.
Officials say feeding wildlife could result in something called "food conditioning," which leads to animals relying on humans for food. And the reliance on human food means the animals abandon their natural ability to hunt and forage.
In turn, they'll eat the wrong food and won't get the nutrients they need. Additionally, they could start begging, stealing, or even attacking people for food. And if they attack you, officials will have to kill it because it'll be too comfortable with humans.
So don't feed wildlife.
