I have a news flash for people. Wild animals retain their instincts, even if they are trained to perform as our little furry toys. An animal breed doesn't become a domesticated species for many generations, and even then, instincts will surface, sometimes for reasons most of us don't see coming.
Last week, ABC and probably every other news source aired the story of an Oregon woman who took her baby to the zoo wearing a black and white striped hoodie. The baby sat on the floor in front of a glass wall while a lion pawed at the glass, trying to get at the baby. Mom filmed the whole thing, laughing. Click here for this story.
I am not going to say she is a bad mother, but doesn't instinct tell most of us to get a baby away from an animal that could tear it to shreds? The glass could be a foot thick but the sight of a lion trying to get at a baby would make me snatch up the child up and step away.
The baby wasn't aware of any potential danger and went home just fine. Time for me to stop thinking about this, right?
Wrong.
This morning's wild life story on ABC was about the Scottish couple who visited a game preserve in South Africa. The wife wanted to pet two supposedly tame cheetahs for her 60th birthday. She was able to do that, but when one of the cheetahs grabbed a young girl's leg, the woman stepped in to rescue her. The other cheetah attacked the woman from behind and both cheetahs mauled the woman for three minutes (the time was mentioned on Good Morning America but not in print) Click here for cheetah attack story.
Why would the child's parents in this story expose her to this risk? If you haven't read the link, she ran to safety and wasn't physically harmed. Why would this couple expose themselves to the risk?
And the biggest question of all: Why the hell did the husband take pictures for three minutes of his wife being mauled? Why didn't he drop the camera and try to help his wife???
When we go to the zoo with our grandson or great niece and nephews, you won't find us laughing at animals thinking the kids are food. I won't be 60 until this fall, but if hubby suggests a trip to Africa to go to a petting preserve, I'll be saying no. Very vehemently.
If slim, trim Roy Horn (of Seigfried and Roy) looked tasty to a tiger he had worked with for 7 years, I'm sure something with big teeth and no familial alliances would perceive me to be a grand buffet.
I'll probably be here earlier tomorrow. I think I'm taking a few days off from watching the news.
4 comments:
Well I don't really know why people do what they do to be honest with you. It's sad. sandie
Boy, I'm with you! I am not one to take a risk of any size anyway, but I don't particularly like zoos, etc. A safari would mean going some where hot... when they have air conditioned safaris, let me know.
I mentioned to hubby the other day that either people are losing self control more often or we are just hearing more about it. Scary to think that someone in the store or parking lot can go crazy just if they don't like what others are doing.
Beckie
I just read both articles and watched the video. I found nothing funny about the baby sitting in front of the glass window, in fact I would have been terrified to be there watching it. And in the case of the Cheetah, the husband needs his head examined and be banned for life from his camera.
XO,
Jane
Just because they live to be of age, doesn't mean they have common sense.
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