I recall my two trips to Palawan earlier this year, before I left for the States. The first of the trips was spent at a resort in El Nido Bay; and the second included a lovely boat safari tour around the Calamian Islands near Coron. Both organizations were very eco-conscious, beginning with mandatory briefings for all guests and participants about the "Leave No Trace" philosophy.

The organizers at El Nido didn't use those words per se; but instead, they chose to extend with the quote "Take only memories, leave only footprints." I remember loving that clever line so much. I only found out later that it's attributed to the historical Native American Chief Seattle, whom I greatly admired for his heartbreaking 1854 speech on how the White Man will never be alone.

I admit to being an addictive smoker, and all of us educated and aware cigarette junkies do take care to store our used butts on our persons as we wander. In my case, I slip them into the plastic covering of the pack until an appropriate trash bin reveals itself. The boats at the El Nido resort actually provide small plastic bags to guests as a portable disposal option for their refuse, and to enforce the "Clean As You Go" rule when it comes to littering.

The resort and safari offered knowledgable guides in their fields, full of experience and the willingness to share information. It is said that the more you love, the more you want to learn; and the more you know, the more you love…. And I do believe that education through exploration supports this theory. In the fight for environmental conservation, awareness really is a strategic weapon.

There was a curious side to all of this. The resort in El Nido had a morning regiment of feeding a school of jacks, which proved popular with the guests. Tourists would jump into the water to swim with these large stealthy creatures. Children enjoyed throwing food into the water.

These fish had learned to habitually come to the resort's dock at the start of the day, to fill their bellies with chunks of fish prey from the resorts' kitchen. While the people at the El Nido resort insisted that guests don't feed the fish themselves because the staff regulated the servings and the type of feed, the guides from Coron did not.

Before departing on the boat safari from Coron town, we had a full day to see what was around Coron island. We hired a guide recommended by the inn we stayed at and decided to see the more immediate sites. This included some fantastic snorkeling spots like Siete Pecados, a small protected marine sanctuary indicated by seven limestone formations jutting out of the clear water, covered in sparse foliage.

Underneath these stone guardians was quite stunning, a myriad of color and life and diversity. The guide jumped into the water and gave us bread to draw the fish to us. Later on during our boat safari, we did the same above a naval WWII wreck. Both of the guides fed bread, and I noticed that the refuse of all we had cooked and eaten on board was flushed out into the sea we traversed, inevitably serving as food to marine life.

Many a logical specialist discourage this behavior. Some divers strongly preach against it while, for some, it is a guilty pleasure. Plenty of local guides treat tourists with the amusing sight of countless shiny scales swarming them in a feeding frenzy. Many people like to feed animals… And many don't care about animals in general, or any of this stuff.

Instinctually, I like to feed animals. When a neighbor's cat visits and I'm told it's on a diet, I still like to give it tiny dishes of fish and meat. When advised by a city to not feed pigeons or ducks or geese or squirrels, I still do.

Sometimes my mind wanders and considers that since humans have encroached on so much of the land that sustains wildlife, certain animals are lucky… Animals that have an amount of cute factor to make humans want to dote on them. It makes me imagine the pet-keeping culture developed by prehistoric and ancient hunter-gatherers, and domestication, and eventually overpopulation or infestation. I recall documentaries on frontier regions like Alaska in which wild animals adapt to the imposition of human settlement (instead of civilization adapting to the wild) by taking food and garbage from people. I see in my local Metro Manila community the multiplication of stray cats due to the fondness of neighbors.

Feeding wild animals perhaps imposes a human agenda on the world, turning them into dependents after encroaching on land that once sustained them. It creates imbalance, turns those creatures from their natural source of food, spoiling them from natural survival. In the future, their populations could outgrow what their natural environment can provide.

Pampering animals out of amusement or compassion is a natural part of the human condition. Sometimes there is a tendency to justify it by the desire to help, but there are better options to show we really care. In terms of respecting their habitats, the coral conservation and restoration efforts in the Philippines are daunting in statistics. Only around 5% of all Philippine coral reefs are considered to be in good condition, due to poaching, unscrupulous fishing practices, climate change, and human proximity and traffic. Even when bans on harmful fishing are implemented in certain areas, they sneakily move somewhere else more secluded. Amidst the challenges, such regulation and spore culturing efforts are noble and necessary, especially at the rate we're going as a society.

Feeding wild animals isn't the best thing to do. In the face of the next impulse, one must stop to think and weigh the best ways to express love and awareness.

Jenna V. Genio is an artist, writer and traveler. She relies on creativity and story-telling to create striking images. Some of her works are on display at http://shatterday.deviantart.com/. She is currently looking to establish herself in Manila as a visual artist.

Photos used with permission from Jenna V. Genio.