USVI-On-Line

We've all had our donkey experiences...mostly on a road where you have to slow down for them and they come right up to the window and stick their heads in! Does anyone give them a snack? I have learned that they love bread, peppermints and ginger snaps! How strange is that? Does anyone ever feed them??? I think these things rot their teeth if they eat it in abundance but would be fun to give a snack. Should I not do it? Connections box could include gingersnaps and peppermints if it wouldn't hurt them?

Please, please don't feed them. Donkeys quickly learn to associate people with food. Males can be extremely aggressive, and there have been numerous incidents over the years. I have been injured by donkeys, and have seen them destroy property more than once.

Thanks, Hugo. That's all I need to hear. I will not be feeding the donkeys.

Too many people are feeding the feral animals, reptiles and birds and it is causing a lot of problems here.

Please, people, do not feed the animals, reptiles and birds.

If you really want to help, go here and make a donation:

http://www.stjohnanimalcarecenter.com/help.html

These folks are doing a great job trying to to handle all these issues and can use all the help that they can get.

That goes for the fish, too.

Please!

Oh, I thought we already had "Don't Feed the Fish!" covered, but it's good not to assume things.
Don't feed the fish, either, please.
(Thanks for the reminder, Augie.)

Just out of curiosity, what IS the policy concerning the wild animals of STJ. Live and let live sounds nice but doesn't deal with the problems of animal populations with no controls or natural predators. While the donkeys and goats and chickens running around can be cute and adds to the charm of STJ, they must create all sorts of issues for residents.

Since you asked--yes, they do cause a lot of problems, both for people and for the environment--remember, bats are our only native mammals.
The Animal Care Center has been doing a great job with spaying/neutering feral cats. They are released, with the idea that the population will be decreased in the long term. There are feeding stations for cats, which certainly reduces the predation of birds and lizards. The NPS traps mongoose and kills them, and you won't find too many people protesting that--they are vicious predators (e.g. turtle eggs, ground-nesting birds). Periodically, the Park also kills goats and pigs within Park boundaries, and distributes the meat to any who want it. Donkeys have been killed on occasion when they have become aggressive toward tourists, but their population seems to have mysteriously stabilized in recent years. The big problems that have recently exploded are deer and iguanas, both of which had historically tiny populations that have expanded vastly in the last 15 years. The park hasn't yet started work on any management plan, apparently because of their total focus on marine resources.... I'd love to see as much horror at a deer sighting as at a lion fish sighting, (An aside--Caneel Bay's present management has been encouraging deer, donkeys and mongoose on the premise that most visitors are so ignorant they'll be happy to see furry animals and think they are "natural").
I am actually an animal lover myself, but I'm even more of a nature lover.

Just curious, which animals are a threat to iguanas? I thought the mongoose took the small ones and their egg and I can also se cats doing it. Any idea how the population has increased so much? Are the iguanas a threat to any other animals on the island, like birds?

Maggy

Hugo,
It is good to know that STJ seems to have a handle on keeping the wild animal poulations under control. I would hate to see the island over run with any of them. I was going to suggest a spay/nueter program for the donkeys, goats, and pigs but I guess that the availability of forage will keep the numbers under control. I suppose the island birds of prey could handle the smaller iguanas. They have no problems with the lizards.

All great advice IMHO.

Look but don't touch. Admire but don't feed.

And take a cat or dog home with you from the animal care center if you can!

I don't know about STJ, but on STT they are now building Cat Cafes around STT for the cat population. If food and water is there, they can find the cats that need to be fixed or neutered and then they are returned to the area of the Cat Cafe.

The reason for this is so they have food, water and a place to go when the weather isn't so friendly.

They are really cute too. They're almost like a childs play house, painted in great colors and it's all done by volunteers through donations.

Bump as a reminder not to feed the animals.

Remember this post.... it was made a year ago by a wonderful lady that loves animals and had been reading other posts about the prospect of feeding them. She loves STJ,and always has the best intrest of the island at heart and would do nothing to harm any part of it or disturb the ballance of nature. She is just kind hearted, and did not know that this was a problem. She took alot of flack for it. Dredging this post or any other post up in hopes of solving a problem is not necessary. If you have a beef with something, or want to remind people to do the right thing, post an original post!

I have to agree, Ruby!