I dreamt last night I was at a wildlife sanctuary that housed rescued lions. In the dream, a small group of people entered the enclosure containing one lion and two lionesses. I was one of the people in the group. The entire dream consisted of this small group trying to not get bitten by these lions. Unfortunately, the male lion kept coming up to me and rubbing his heavy mane along my midsection, repeatedly mouthing my arms and legs in the way that small puppies do when they are teething. I spent the entire dream terrified that this lion was going to do what he was made to do: eat meat. Photographers were nearby trying to capture these moments in "conservation." While I often wake up wondering what the heck is going on in my subconscious, this dream was such a healthy reminder that although I love cats, I would be scared out of my mind to force shared space with one. That's just not smart! When I came across the following over coffee this morning, I couldn't have found a better example of why captive animals need respect, too!
I first saw this video courtesy of Big Cat Rescue, a wildlife sanctuary in Tampa, Florida. While I recognize that the benefit was for tigers and some sort of conservation, the message sent through this video does not positively support tiger conservation or accurate tiger behavior. I want to share it because there are so many things going wrong! Foremost, it is not a tiger attack. This tiger, who was already clearly overstimulated and showing signs of stress, is very excited about the cologne the man is wearing and is trying to bask in the scent. Second, why did said man see fit to wrap his arms around a tiger's neck? Thirdly (that is actually a word!), the tiger should not have had the opportunity to get close to anyone. And finally, what the hell was a tiger doing at a fundraiser? Even if you don't know tiger behavior, it is easy to imagine how very quickly the situation could have gone awry and that man would have been killed. Such irresponsible tiger promotion! Both parties are very lucky, as the animal probably would have been destroyed for mauling a human, and well, the guy's luck is pretty self-explanatory.
Tiger Attacks At Fundraiser!
I first saw this video courtesy of Big Cat Rescue, a wildlife sanctuary in Tampa, Florida. While I recognize that the benefit was for tigers and some sort of conservation, the message sent through this video does not positively support tiger conservation or accurate tiger behavior. I want to share it because there are so many things going wrong! Foremost, it is not a tiger attack. This tiger, who was already clearly overstimulated and showing signs of stress, is very excited about the cologne the man is wearing and is trying to bask in the scent. Second, why did said man see fit to wrap his arms around a tiger's neck? Thirdly (that is actually a word!), the tiger should not have had the opportunity to get close to anyone. And finally, what the hell was a tiger doing at a fundraiser? Even if you don't know tiger behavior, it is easy to imagine how very quickly the situation could have gone awry and that man would have been killed. Such irresponsible tiger promotion! Both parties are very lucky, as the animal probably would have been destroyed for mauling a human, and well, the guy's luck is pretty self-explanatory.
Tiger Attacks At Fundraiser!