Keys of the 'love locks' at Grand Canyon are becoming dangerous. Here's why

Love locks, which are padlocks snapped by couples onto fences and barriers placed at beautiful locations to symbolise the permanency of their relations, are a threat to wildlife, as per the recent social media post shared by the Grand Canyon National Park.

"Love is strong, but our bolt cutters are stronger," wrote park staff in a Wednesday post on Facebook. "People think putting a lock on fencing at viewpoints is a great way to show love for another person. It's not. Leaving padlocks is littering and a form of graffiti," he said.

Generally, lovers throw the key of the padlock into the gorge or river behind the fence after affixing their lock. However, the Grand Canyon's park staff wrote that this step of throwing the key in the popular ritual is especially dangerous.

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Although the staff considers locks as “littering” and “graffiti” in the park, it is the key which causes more serious issues.

The critically endangered condors of California are attracted to shiny things, and as a result, some of the keys dropped in the waterwere swallowed by the bird and needed surgery to get removed.

"Condors are curious animals and much like a small child will investigate strange things they come across with their mouths. They will spot a coin, a wrapper, or a shiny piece of metal – like a key from a padlock that has been tossed into the canyon – and eat it," the post read.

Animals 'can die' after eating many shiny metal objects

Emphasising their point, the park rangers shared an X-ray image of a condor with coins, which were stuck in its digestive tract. According to the post, if the animal eats too many shiny metal objects, "it could die."

“Condors are not meant to digest metal and many times cannot pass these objects. If a condor ingests too many objects like this, it could die," the post read.

Even after posting the warnings, people threw objects in the canyon every day, said staff. Last year, TikTok influencer Katie Sigmond was slapped with a fine of $285 after she threw a golf ball into the Grand Canyon, according to the social media post of the park.

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"Padlocks and trash are not anomalies limited to the Grand Canyon. Do your part to not contribute to these bad habits and inform others of what can happen to the wildlife if these behaviours continue," wrote the park staff.

Love locks have proved to be troublesome in other destinations also, most famously at Paris’ Pont des Arts, where the locks had become so heavy that they started damaging the bridge's structural integrity.

In 2015, when the locks were removed by the city of Paris, the weight of the 700,000 metal objects was equal to the weight of 20 elephants.

(With inputs from agencies)

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