Please do not feed the wildlife

I hesitate posting this entry in my blog, but I feel compelled to say something that I am passionate about. If you are going to visit Ngorongoro Crater, or any similar environment in Africa where there are birds of prey that have become habituated to humans, please read further. Ngoitokitok springs in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania is only one of a few locations inside this collapsed caldera that we as human visitors are allowed to get out and stretch our legs and eat a well deserved picnic. Since the location is popular, we are bound to have wildlife that have become habituated to our presence.

One of the most common examples is that of the black kite, which swoop down from the sky to steal food away from humans. Ok. It is what it is, but I cringe when I see people deliberately feeding this bird of prey. The main reason I get so upset is that I once saw a young girl with a piece of chicken in her hand, and a black kite quickly swooped down to grab it from her hands. It was a close call, but she did have some scrapes on her hand from the bird's large talons. I can only assume that over time something much worse could happen to somebody, as these carnivores could easily take off a finger.

I don't want to sound like an old curmudgeon, but I feel like I needed to post my feelings on the matter. As the old adage says, "please don't feed the wildlife". The adage is there for a reason. Please respect it.