Grand Canyon National Park officials warned visitors to stop leaving padlocks, or “love locks,” attached to fences because the discarded keys tossed in the canyon pose a risk to the critically endangered California condors that like to ingest them.
The practice of leaving love locks on fences by lovebirds at scenic viewpoints is a form of “littering and a form of graffiti,” park officials say.
“Love is strong, but it is not as strong as our bolt cutters,” park officials wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
After leaving the padlocks, people have been throwing the keys in the canyon.
The shiny keys attract the curiosity of the California condor, which investigates things that intrigue it with its mouth. The birds, part of the vulture species and similar in shape, have a particular affinity for shiny things such as wrappers, coins and metal objects, including keys, park officials explained.
However, the large birds cannot digest the metal, producing blockages that require medical intervention to remove. If a condor ingests too much shiny stuff and the digestive blockage grows too big, it dies.
“Objects are thrown from the rim every day. … Do your part to not contribute to these bad habits and inform others of what can happen to the wildlife if these behaviors continue,” park officials said.
