Do-gooders tourists in Kamchatka condemn evrazhek Avachinsky pass to death
In the Volcanoes of Kamchatka National Park, residents and guests of the region were urged not to feed wild animals, in particular, Eureka, reminding that improper diet leads to their death, Kamchatka.Today reports.
The environmental protection agency noted that Beringian ground squirrels or European gophers are not rare or endangered. Their population is thriving, and they are even developing territories near roads and human habitations.
Eurocaps play an important role in the ecosystem. By burrowing, they renew the soil, and by dragging supplies, they actively participate in the spread of plant seeds. However, curiosity and gullibility become a trap for them when tourists start feeding them.
“The situation is particularly critical at the Avacha Pass, which has become a free-to-visit zone since 2020. Many people go there with the slogan “Feed the evrazhek!”, unaware of the harm they are doing. This phenomenon is called synanthropy – when wild animals adapt to life next to humans, but, unfortunately, they lose touch with their natural environment and their instincts,” the nature park said.
They noted that the scariest thing is that “love” for ground squirrels often becomes fatal for them. The intestines of the animal are physiologically not adapted for digesting many of the products with which it is “treated”: bread, sausage, biscuits.
Improper food causes rapid inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract in European cats, and the animal dies on average per day. But tourists do not see this, because the ground squirrel most often dies in a hole.
In nature, the Eureka diet consists of plants, and sometimes they can feast on bird eggs, small insects, or caterpillars. Closer to winter, before hibernation, they switch to roots, lingonberries, blueberries, mushrooms and green shrubs.
The nature park reminded that it is strictly forbidden to feed ground squirrels with sausage, cheese, flour products, sweets, bread, cookies. Special attention is paid to chocolate. theobromine contained in it is the strongest toxin that affects the heart. One small bar of chocolate can kill an animal.
“Let’s be responsible guests at the wildlife house. Watch, take pictures, and enjoy the presence of ground squirrels, but never feed wild animals, thereby condemning them to death,” the nature park urged.
Photo: Volcanoes of Kamchatka Nature Park.