PHOENIX — If you have spent any amount of time on social media, you more than likely have seen photos of "Love Locks."
In this trend, people post photos of padlocks being placed on fences to symbolize love for a significant other. Some have even posted videos of themselves throwing the key into a canyon or body of water nearby after locking the padlock on the fence.
While this trend is great for the 'Gram, park officials at the Grand Canyon are advising visitors to keep their locks and keys at home.
On a post shared on the Grand Canyon National Park Facebook page, officials ask those visiting the park in northern Arizona to refrain from putting padlocks on fences and participating in the "Love Locks" trend.
"Leaving pad locks like this is littering and a form of graffiti," the post read. "But because people will throw their padlock key into the canyon the scenario becomes worse and more dangerous specifically for a rare and endangered animal of the canyon."
The animal the post is referring to is the condor. According to the post, condors are very inquisitive animals and could be attracted to shiny, metallic objects. Condors usually inspect objects with their mouths, so locks and keys could be dangerous to the birds if swallowed.
An X-ray of a condor that swallowed some small metal objects show what happens if the birds swallows the wrong objects.
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