The National Park Service has a message for love-struck visitors: stop putting "love locks" on fencing.
"People think putting a lock on fencing at viewpoints is a great way to show love for another person," Grand Canyon National Park wrote in a Facebook post. "It's not. Leaving padlocks like this is littering and a form of graffiti."
Grand Canyon National Park said the act becomes "worse and more dangerous" when people decide to throw the padlock key into the canyon instead of keeping it or discarding it properly.
The park service used the example of curious condors to highlight the dangers.
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"Condors love shiny things," the park service wrote. "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. Condors are not meant to digest metal and many times cannot pass these objects."
The park service shared a photo showing coins lodged in one condor's digestive track.
"This bird had to be operated on to clear the obstructions," the park service wrote. "If a condor ingests too many objects like this, it could die."
The park service emphasized that "love locks" and litter being left behind are not unique to the Grand Canyon – it's a problem happening at parks across the country.
"Do your part to not contribute to these bad habits and inform others of what can happen to the wildlife if these behaviors continue," the park service wrote.
