Couples planning to add a love lock to any fencing at the Grand Canyon in Arizona should think again, park officials say.
“Leaving (padlocks) like this is littering and a form of graffiti,” the Grand Canyon National Park said in an Oct. 10 Facebook post.
A love lock is a padlock couples can engrave with their names before adding to a bridge, fence or installation at a special destination. Once the lock is added, the key is typically thrown away to seal—or lock—the couple’s love.
But littering isn’t the only problem.
Throwing the key, or anything metal, into the Grand Canyon can cause great harm to the wildlife below, park officials said. It’s particularly dangerous for the endangered California condor.
“Condors are curious animals and much like a small child will investigate strange things they come across with their mouths,” officials said.
These creatures are also attracted to shiny objects, so they will likely eat a piece of metal if they find it, officials said.
Once a condor eats a coin or a padlock key, they won’t be able to digest it or pass it, resulting in it needing an operation, officials said. If it eats too much metal, a condor could die.
Park officials shared a photo of a condor’s digestive tract filled with coins and said it underwent an operation to have them removed.
“Do your part to not contribute to these bad habits and inform others of what can happen to the wildlife if these behaviors continue,” officials said in the post.
So leave the padlock at home or find another spot that has been deemed safe to place it.
“Love is strong, but it is not as strong as our bolt cutters,” officials said.
California condors are “one of the most endangered birds in the world,” according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department. They were listed as an endangered species in 1967. By 1987, every wild condor (22 birds) was brought into captivity so the species could recover.
As of December 2022, there are 561 condors, 116 of which live in Arizona and Utah. A total of nearly 350 condors live in the wild.
