One of the sure signs of spring at NIU is the annual “don’t feed the ducks” letter ostensibly written by a biology student, but most likely ghost-written from the same cornball professor in that department who annually promotes this futile campaign.

Typical of past writing on the subject, this latest letter contained a number of speculations and conclusions, based not upon any scientific study or understanding of ecology and the behavior of wildlife, but upon a selective extrapolation of fragmented assumptions. I would like to offer a different analysis, based on observation and inquiry.

First, some facts about waterfowl and ecology:

1. Ducks fly. They can range up to 200 miles in a day. They look for food, water, and other ducks, and are not tenured dullards who sit around waiting for the next handout.

2. Ducks do not prefer to be around humans. Because of the drying up of the nation’s wetlands by industrial urbanization and agriculture, wildlife habitat has been reduced to a tiny fraction of what it once was. There is no “overpopulation of ducks” at the lagoon. They go where food and water is available. During the drought of 1988 the population at the lagoon was much larger than it is today.

3. A goose is not a duck. This difference, I can assure you, is not widely understood among biology students. The domestic geese at the lagoon are most likely of the Pilgrim and Embden variety. They are responsible for the unsightly droppings in the area.

4. Many of the ducks seen at the lagoon are passing through during their spring and fall migration. They are the ones who will not come near you under any circumstances.

5. The algae problem at the lagoon is most likely the result of a number of causes. What no one from the biology department proposes is a study of what flows into the lagoon from Watson Creek. It would be interesting to know what comes out of the drains from the biology and chemistry buildings. A real environmental concern is the genetic damage and effect on the food chain that may be caused by the chemicals from these buildings. Storm runoff is another unstudied source of pollution that likely affects the lagoon’s ecosystem.

On the plus side, feeding the ducks is one of the few ways for people in DeKalb’s drab manmade environment to communicate with what little is left of nature. Countless parents provide their children with valuable learning experiences by exposing them to the joy of kindness to wild animals (they do not, contrary to popular myth, become tame by feeding them). In this age of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nintendo and “smart” wars, kids need all the humanizing influence they can get. I do wish, however, that they would feed the ducks corn instead of bread, which is not particularly good for them.

John Hamilton

NIU Alumnus