Be our guest, not our pest: Summer travel rules to enjoy places without destroying them

What are you doing for your summer vacation this year - killing any wildlife? Destroying spectacular natural habitats?

The news has been littered with horrible tales of tourists behaving badly in historic forests, tropical beaches and international theme parks.

Disneyland Shanghai, which doesn't even open until June 16, has already had to issue an etiquette guide this week because guests attending the Magic Kingdom's soft opening have been trashing the place. One guest tweeted a photo of a child defecating on the grass in the new park's plaza - with her mother's help.

Come on, people. We're literally turning each of these perfect vacation spots into a dump. So with Memorial Day kicking off the summer travel season this weekend, park rangers and tourism ambassadors share how to visit a place without destroying it.

WATCH OUT FOR WILDLIFE

If you take one golden rule from this guide, it should be:

*Don't touch the animals. Two tragic scenarios include the bison calf that had to be put down in Yellowstone National Park after two well-meaning guests put it in their SUV. And some thoughtless beachgoers killed a baby dolphin in Argentina after passing it around to take selfies with it. "Let wildlife be wild, and watch from a distance," said Sarah Aucoin, the chief of education and wildlife at the NYC Parks Department. If self-interest must be your guide, know that approaching animals increases your risk of getting bitten, exposing you to diseases.

*Don't take the animals. A natural corrolary to the previous rule is to leave animals where you find them. Guests often stumble across baby animals whose parents left them briefly to forage. "You don't know that, as a matter of fact, the mother is in the bushes right behind them waiting for you to leave," Aucoin said. And once an animal scents humans on its offspring, it may reject it. So if you think an animal is in distress, call 911 (or 311 in NYC) to get a trained expert to assess the situation.

*Don't feed the animals. Any of them, anywhere. That includes giving peanuts to squirrels and bread to ducks. "It really is not good for them," said Aucoin, who recently saw someone put out a bowl of pasta bolognese for the birds in Central Park. Look, if it's not that great for humans, imagine what it could do to a critter's GI tract. "Plus when animals begin to associate people with food, they will approach people for food, which could result in an animal becoming a nuisance and needing to be taken care of," added Aucoin. And yes, "taken care of" can mean euthanization.

LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS IN FORESTS

Last weekend, the University of Oregon fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha trashed a Lake Shasta campground so badly that rangers aren't sure they'll have it cleaned up by Memorial Day. They've already collected a ridiculous amount of garbage, including a cooler reading "Do you wanna do some blow man?"

*Don't litter. This is true everywhere, but especially when camping and hiking. The golden rule: Take out what you bring in. That includes all of your camping equipment, garbage and food leftovers. This not only leaves the place pristine for the next person, but it will keep away animals that might be drawn to the trash. We want to keep the beasties and the tourists a respectable distance apart, remember?

*Don't deface rocks, tree trunks or any other natural formations. Vanessa Hudgens recently made news when she was fined $1,000 for carving her and her boyfriend's names into the historic red rock formations at Arizona's Coconino National Park. Don't be like Vanessa. Resist the urge to draw or etch onto the scenery. It's vandalism. We don't need what few natural wonders we have left tagged with grafitti.

*Don't walk off marked paths. The same week the bison was put down in Yellowstone, news broke that four Canadian adventure tourists videotaped themselves stepping off the path at the parks's hot springs and trampling the delicate ground. "Boardwalks and trails protect you and preserve delicate formations," explain Yellowstone park rules, which are there to protect both the springs and its visitors. "Scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust. Pools may be near or above the boiling temperature and can cause severe, possibly even fatal, burns."

But the same goes for the paths in Central Park and in Brooklyn Bridge Park. "Many of these acres of wild, natural area have undergone very careful restoration to return native species to the place, and going off the path can destroy them," said Aucoin.

*Don't pick flowers, branches or artifacts. Whether you're in Yellowstone or Central Park, taking wildflowers, antlers, rocks, and arrowheads is bad. Technically, those are natural or cultural resources, and their removal disturbs the delicate ecosystem and historic value of a place. Plus, don't be an ass. If all 8.5 million New Yorkers picked "just one flower" or foraged mushrooms and berries, then there would be no flowers left for anyone to enjoy - and no mushrooms or berries for animals to live on. See how that works?

PRESERVE ISLAND PARADISES

Thailand authories closed the popular Koh Tachai island indefinitely last week because tourists have littered the pristine white beaches with garbage and food waste, and gasoline from tour boats has polluted the water and damaged the coral reefs. The Bahamas have launched public service announcements to educate guests on the dos and don'ts of island life, according to Earlston McPhee from the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.

*Pick up after yourself. "Land pollution is one of the great threats to our fragile marine environment," said McPhee - and more than 75% of that trash ends up in the water, turning that crystal-clear sea into a murky mess. "Tourists can assist by ensuring that their trash is placed in secure garbage receptacle bins."

*Save energy. The countries that you visit may not have the same resources as your home does. Fresh water is an expensive commodity in island communities, so don't leave the water running. And turn off the lights and the air conditioning when you leave your hotel room to conserve electricity.

*When diving or snorkeling, take photos, leave bubbles. "Some visitors ... attempt to touch and or take samples of coral or a sensitive natural resource," said McPhee. It took up to 10,000 years for many reefs to grow. The damage from divers won't be repaired in our lifetime. And don't attempt to smuggle your own "Finding Nemo" clownfish or another decorative fish out of the reef. It's illegal, and it's also endangering many species.

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