ND Game & Fish Gives Do’s and Don’ts for Helping Wildlife During Frigid Temperatures

A natural food source, such as leaving corn or sunflower seeds in your garden, is always the best option

FARGO, N.D. – As temperatures continue to drop, some people are concerned with how the wildlife is trying to stay warm.

The North Dakota Game and Fish department advises people to not start putting out food for animals.

By putting food in bird feeders or your backyard, you could possibly put animals into harm’s way because of the wind and extreme temperatures.

If you feed them during cold weather, they grow dependent on that food source.

A natural food source, such as leaving corn or sunflower seeds in your garden, is always the best option.

“They basically find a way like you and I, they hunker down, they try to get out of the wind, they try to stay out of the cold,” North Dakota Game and Fish biologist Doug Leier said. “Then, they maybe reduce their activity a little bit so that they’re not using up some of the fat reserves and using up some of the necessary dietary requirements that they have on unnecessary movement.”

If you have a feeder year round, continue filling it throughout the winter.