Ask a Stoner: Do Wild Animals Eat Weed?

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Dear Stoner: Do any wild animals eat weed? Like, groundhogs and shit?
Ronny

Dear Ronny: Don’t ask growers this question, because that will likely lead to rants about wild animals you’re probably not thinking about, such as spider mites, thrips and aphids. After all, cannabis-eating pests are animals, too. But when it comes to critters with four legs or animals that you’d see at a zoo, there aren’t too many willing offenders, because the same thing that gets us high — cannabinoid-rich trichomes — is also the plants’ defense mechanism. The sticky resin just isn’t very appetizing to animals.

click to enlarge

Cannabis isn't very appetizing to most animals.

Getty Images/Nigel Jared

Deer and rabbits have been spotted nibbling on weed when food options are limited, and rats and mice will use the plants for gnawing purposes. Burrowing mammals like gophers and moles have been known to eat cannabis roots, while rodents and birds will eat the seeds. The real suspects you need to watch out for, though, are domesticated pets like cats and dogs, which are prone to eating edibles and even nugs in some gluttonous cases.

Send questions to [email protected].