Maybe I'm cold hearted, but I have zero sympathy for the man who recently received a tiger smackdown at the Bronx Zoo. I don't wish death on the guy, but he earned those swipes. What could he possibly have been thinking?! The man, who's motives aren't clear from this article, voluntarily invaded a tiger den in which cubs had recently been born. Is it safe to say the adult tiger(s) involved were protecting their family and space? I believe so. I also believe they had the right. I think it's just as important to protect the captive wildlife from the human people staring at them through the glass as vice versa. There should be stronger measures to ensure the public can't pull stunts like this. Have you read Marc Bekoff's Animal Manifesto? Or Wild Justice? Or The Emotional Lives of Animals? You should. It should be required high school level reading.
The caption headline of the article on MSN.com's homepage is entitled, "Man badly mauled by tiger attack". It should say, "Man badly mauled by tiger after invading tiger's personal space, tiger protects cubs".
I totally agree that the animal was soundly within its rights. Not only was it protecting its young, but it was also protecting the small piece of "territory" alotted to it. I don't know how much space tigers normally roam a day but polar bears roam on average 40 miles a day, and so to confine them in a tiny postage stamp area for year and year on end is utter CRUELTY. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, beneficial about zoos. Yes, it might save some lives but at what expense. As for saving animals from extinction, sorry, animals don't think that way. That is a human conception and humans think of themselves as quite valorous when they fight "to save the species". OK, I'll step off my soapbox right now. But good posting and very appropriate commentary!
ReplyDeleteThank you Cheryl! I completely agree, I have a hard time not getting on my soapbox about these issues too.
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