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It seemed like such a harmless thing to do. What could be wrong with putting out a little food to help the foxes and deer make it through a hard winter? Besides seeing wildlife in our backyard is one of the many benefits to living in Colorado. So thought a family who set out dog food, hamburger and grains for foxes and deer near their home in the wooded foothills just outside Denver.

But guess who else came to dinner? Tasty treats left in the family’s yard lured hungry mountain lions to the neighborhood. Not only did the wild cats like the hamburger, they also had their eyes on one of their favorite prey—deer.

It didn’t take long for real trouble to start. Residents’ cats and dogs began disappearing from their yards. Fear and anger set in, and people began clamoring for officials to do something about the dangerous mountain lions.

What started as a well-meaning effort for deer and foxes ended in death for another of Colorado’s wild animals. The mountain lion was snared and killed in a trap set out to make the neighborhood safe again.

This is just one example illustrating why the Colorado Parks and Wildlife is advising people: Please don't feed the wildlife!

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Colorado is blessed with a diversity of wildlife. Our elk population is larger than that of any other state or Canadian province. In addition, our state is home to an abundant, thriving deer population.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife—whose mission is to protect and enhance the state’s wild creatures—knows how much people love Colorado wildlife. They love to watch the animals, learn about them, photograph them, hunt them and, even on occasion, feed them.

We know people mean well when they give tidbits to wildlife. But what many don’t realize is that feeding big game is bad for the animals and dangerous for people. It’s also against the law. There are lots of good reasons why.

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Drive up the Mount Evans Road just about any summer weekend, and you’ll see bighorn sheep—lambs and all—ready to romp onto the road as cars approach. The bighorns head straight for the car windows, often crossing right in front of the grills of four-wheel drive vehicles. These wild animals show no fear of vehicles or the people inside. The bighorns have learned they can get cookies, chips and other goodies from behind those car windows.

We all know junk food is bad for people, but it’s even worse for wild animals. The complex digestive systems of wildlife have evolved over thousands of years. Deer, elk, and pronghorn are ruminants. That means they have a four-chambered stomach that serves as a 'fermentation vat'. They can eat lots of vegetation and digest it very thoroughly. Unlike natural foods, treats from people often cannot be digested properly by big game. In fact, "human food" can, in many cases, stop a wild animal’s digestive system, causing it to get sick and die.

Big game depend entirely on native vegetation, such as grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Those plants provide all the nutritional requirements the animals need to survive in Colorado, even through winter. Eating non-natural kinds of foods can result in nutritional problems for wildlife—or even death.

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When people feed big game, the animals tend to concentrate where the food is set out. That increases the risk of spreading diseases through the herds. Diseases also can spread between wildlife and livestock, as well as to domestic animals and people. CPW is most concerned about devastating diseases, such as brucellosis and tuberculosis, which can be transmitted to humans.

Feeding also can dramatically change the natural distribution and migration of big game animals.

You may delight in seeing a deer grazing in your yard. Your neighbor, however, may become irate seeing his rose bushes chomped to a stub. For farmers and ranchers, the losses can be costly from big game munching on crops or hay. Not only that, luring wildlife to your yard by putting out food could set the wild animals up for death if they have to cross highways to get to feeders or if they encounter harassment from domestic pets.

What’s worse, once wildlife stop using their historic ranges, that land could end up being developed, losing valuable habitat forever.

Feeding big game is not a substitute for enhancing and protecting critical wintering areas.

Next: Unwanted and Dangerous Guests