Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Hoping the best for tiger involved in attack
Yet another animal is probably in harms way after a tiger at the San Antonio Zoo attacked its keepers this weekend, sending him to the hospital. The keeper will recover. It is typical human reaction to kill animals who attack humans, but we forget: It is the animal's nature to kill other creatures. Only time will tell in this case, but I'm willing to bet zookeepers will kill the tiger. I hope I'm wrong. Zoos are disgusting human creations and are nothing more than animal prisons. The San Antonio Zoo is especially bad with tiny enclosures for the animals. If I had my way, I would abolish all zoos. Instead, I would seek animal conservation areas with breading areas, if needed. Zoos as conservation tools are simply excuses to keep tearing up the animals' habitats. I don't need to see an animal in an enclosure to appreciate its majesty. Hopefully, Berani the tiger will not be executed.
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Your blog came up in a Google search. When I saw "Hoping the best for tiger involved in attack" I had to write. Andrew, your entry is one of the most irresponsible things I've seen on any blog in some time. Your bias against zoos is clear. What is also clear is that you know nothing about the institutions you criticize. Before you start feeding the misinformation machine, do a little research. This tiger will not be harmed. The attack was not the tigers fault. The attack had nothing to do with the San Antonio Zoo's exhibit or its standards of animal care. It had everything to do with the tiger being a tiger. Take a moment and do some research about tiger behavior. It doesn't matter how long a keeper has cared for a carnivore - tiger, lion, jaguar, bear, any carnivore - or the setting - zoo, sanctuary, or private hands - the keeper doesn't have a relationship with the animal nor the animal with the keeper. If the animal sees an opportunity to strike it will respond to its DNA and attack. Doesn't matter if the animal was captive bred or wild caught. Zoos know this. Look at the jaguar incident at Denver Zoo. That animal was not "executed." The tiger at Tampa was shot and killed because it was inches away from getting out of the enclosure and into a public area where it could have posed a threat to people. "Zoos are excuses to keep tearing up the animal's habitats." What does that mean? The animals you see in zoos today - with very rare exceptions - were captive bred, not wild caught. Zoos aren't perfect. Few things are. But please, Andrew do yourself and your readers a service and learn something about zoos and how they operate. Your criticism will carry much more weight and have more impact if it comes from a base of knowledge and not simply bias.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can see I must have struck a nerve with you. When I said humans generally kill animals that mess with humans, I wasn't just refering to zoos, but all instances, including wild bear and alligator attacks. It would be wonderful if they didn't kill the tiger. I just have my doubts. As for how zoos operate, they are clear prisons. You would not want to be put behind bars and put on display, would you? Why would an animal? It probably exhibits some angst because it doesn't like being held captive and not being able tromp freely through the jungle.
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