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Carrot-addicted Kangaroos Attacking Tourists in Australia

A sign reads "Do not feed the kangaroos" near Morisset Park, Australia in this undated photo obtained from social media. Kroosn Shuttle Service Pty Ltd/via REUTERS
A sign reads "Do not feed the kangaroos" near Morisset Park, Australia in this undated photo obtained from social media. Kroosn Shuttle Service Pty Ltd/via REUTERS
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Carrot-addicted Kangaroos Attacking Tourists in Australia

A sign reads "Do not feed the kangaroos" near Morisset Park, Australia in this undated photo obtained from social media. Kroosn Shuttle Service Pty Ltd/via REUTERS
A sign reads "Do not feed the kangaroos" near Morisset Park, Australia in this undated photo obtained from social media. Kroosn Shuttle Service Pty Ltd/via REUTERS

Tourists in Australia's Lake Macquarie are ignoring warnings and feeding carrots to kangaroos who are aggressive at the sight of sugary snack, a tour operator said.

The issue has reached the point where national news is warning tourists of the dangers of feeding kangaroos.

Each week thousands of people come to see the kangaroos near a psychiatric hospital, enticed by travel blogs promising "adorable wild kangaroos" that are "tame enough to get close to and take photos with," Reuters reported.

Tourists approach kangaroos with carrots in their hands and while trying to take photos, they get attacked.

A photo posted by a tour operator on social media showed a kangaroo leaping up to kick a tourist with its powerful legs. Other photos showed a woman with a scratched face.

"Kangaroos can occasionally be aggressive no matter what the circumstances are, but 90 percent of the time it's the people who are trying to feed them who are attacked," Shane Lewis, who operates a tourist shuttle service to the park, told Reuters.

Lewis said he showed photos of injuries to tourists as a reminder of the damage a wild animal can do.

A kangaroo's natural diet is mostly grass, so the sugar in carrots can make it hard to effectively absorb nutrients and lead to a "slow and painful death", she added.

Politician Greg Piper said that there isn't much to do except to educate people.

"The only thing we can do is educate people about the dangers and find a way to manage the situation, not just for the safety of visitors and the hospital's residents but also for the safety of the kangaroos."

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Tourist Coins Pose Giant Problem at N. Ireland's Famous Causeway Site

Tourists are pictured at the Giant's Causeway, a Unesco World Heritage Site, near Bushmills in Northern Ireland, on July 8, 2025. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP)
Tourists are pictured at the Giant's Causeway, a Unesco World Heritage Site, near Bushmills in Northern Ireland, on July 8, 2025. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP)
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Tourist Coins Pose Giant Problem at N. Ireland's Famous Causeway Site

Tourists are pictured at the Giant's Causeway, a Unesco World Heritage Site, near Bushmills in Northern Ireland, on July 8, 2025. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP)
Tourists are pictured at the Giant's Causeway, a Unesco World Heritage Site, near Bushmills in Northern Ireland, on July 8, 2025. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP)

Northern Ireland's Giant Causeway draws close to one million visitors a year but their habit of wedging tiny coins in cracks between the rocks -- to bring love or luck -- is damaging the world-famous wonder.

Now authorities are urging tourists to keep their coins in their pockets to preserve the spectacular landscape.

Some 40,000 columns mark the causeway, Northern Ireland's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geologists say the natural phenomenon was created by an outpouring of basalt lava 60 million years ago.

Legend has it that the causeway was formed by Irish giant Finn McCool.

In recent decades, visitors have pushed thousands of coins into fissures in the rocks.

The gesture is "a token of love or luck", according to Cliff Henry, the causeway's nature engagement officer.

But the coins rapidly corrode and expand, causing the basalt to flake and leaving "unsightly" rust-colored streaks, Henry told AFP.

He pointed to streaks on a rock and gingerly prized out a US cent with a set of keys.

"We get a lot of euros and dollar cents. But coins from literally all over the world -- any currency you can think of, pretty much -- we have had it here," he said.

A report by the British Geological Survey in 2021 revealed that the coins were "doing some serious damage" and something had to be done about it, he noted.

Signs are now in place around the site appealing to tourists to "leave no trace".
"Once some visitors see other people have done it, they feel that they need to add to it," causeway tour guide Joan Kennedy told AFP.

She and her colleagues now gently but firmly tell tourists to desist.

At the exit from the causeway, a US couple said they were "distressed" to hear of the damage the metal caused.

"Our guide mentioned as we came up that people had been putting coins into the stones. It's really terrible to hear that," said Robert Lewis, a 75-year-old from Florida.

"It's kind of like damaging any kind of nature when you are doing something like that, putting something foreign into nature. It's not good," said his wife, Geri, 70.

As part of a £30,000 ($40,000) conservation project, stone masons recently removed as many coins as they could -- without causing further damage -- from 10 test sites around the causeway.

Henry said the trial was successful and is to be expanded across the causeway.

"If we can get all those coins removed to start with that will help the situation and hopefully no more coins will be put in," he said.

"If visitors see fewer coins in the stones and hear appeals to stop the damaging practice, the problem can maybe be solved.

"We know that visitors love and cherish the Giant's Causeway, and many form deep personal connections to it, so we want this natural wonder to remain special for future generations."