Don't Feed The Animals

I feel like someone's mother when I admonish TJ with "Do not feed the animals." I guess if he actually listened to me this wouldn't be an issue. But, he doesn't. There is some deep satisfaction that he seems to get when interacting with wildlife. And by wildlife, I mean birds and, occasionally, sheep. And by interacting, I mean feeding, petting, and chasing.

The history of TJ's behavior is documented. Here he is in New Zealand (2007) trying to make friends with a Kea. Actually, it looks more like he is trying to birdnap it.


And, here are some seagulls that needed feeding. Also in New Zealand.


And, here he is trying to goose a goose in London (2008)? Really? Really.


But, this time, he really takes the cake. It starts with a joke. Or what sounds like the beginning of a joke. A duck walks down the street. In this case, we were in Kalmar, Sweden, loading up the car for the trip home. The dogs had just been loaded into the car when I noticed a duck walking down the middle of the street towards us. TJ tempted it with a banana. Then, wondered aloud if he had to wash the banana now that the duck tried to bite it. Duck germs!


Next, TJ enticed the duck with some lowfat potato chips. The duck seemed to like this quite a bit. A dieting duck? TJ had made a new friend. However, I saw some potential problems with their relationship. I captured the events on video. So, as they say, on with the show....




The epilogue is that the duck walked into the convenience store, spooked a customer, and stood around the entrance until TJ came out. Luckily, the duck got distracted when TJ came out. And so, we made our escape. Lest we have a duck trailing us back to the car and flying alongside us on our way out of town. We drove by the convenience store and saw the duck standing out front eating crumbs on the sidewalk. He seemed happy enough. But, a nervous pigeon stood nearby and gave him the side-eye. There was now unexpected competition. TJ had reset the balance of survival of the fittest in Kalmar. Do not feed the animals!