Tiger Attack, Zoo Animals, and Exotic Pets; Do they have anything In Common

Thanks to our media, we have all heard of the tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo. We can't help it the news has been filled with it from both angles, the zoo's view and the families' view. Well, now there is my view. My view is pure opinion nothing more, well maybe a little bit more, but not much? I was not here to see the attack, but knowing the power that resides within a Siberian Tiger, I know that the attacks were horrifying to watch and experience. It's true, this tiger had attacked before, but honestly I don't see the importance behind that, attack and this attack. What is important is how this animal escaped and who if anyone might have persuaded this beautiful cat to leave it's enclosure? Some have said that it might have been the young men who were attacked. Again, I was not there but I suppose it could be true. The question of them teasing the animal is a good one to ask. I've seen countless people staring down at a silverback gorilla who proceeds to smash into the glass separating us from the apes. I'm sure that ape would have attacked. Would the person staring at the ape deserve to get attacked in my humble opinion yes? You simply don't do that to a gorilla, it would be like flipping someone the bird or pointing a gun at someone. Pretty much the same difference. Again, I was not there to see the actions taken by those young men, but for some unreason the cat attacked them. What I do know is that one person was killed and his friends were injured. The tiger, an endangered species, was killed. The zoo is of course dealing with the aftermath of the escape and the attack. I still have more to say on the matter and of course it is based on opinion at least part of it.

My feelings on the attack are purely based on the the media reports that I've seen. I think the zoo needs to look at the hows, whys, and whats of this escape. If they can figure out how the tiger escaped then perhaps there won't be any more escapes, plus they can share that knowledge with other zoos around our country and the world. We need to know why the cat left it's enclosure. Was this animal taunted or teased in some way and that led to it's escape? Were there other factors that lead to it's escape and the ultimately to it's attack. The young men might have been the closest to the area where the tiger landed upon escaping, and out of fear or frustration attacked. No matter the situation, I cannot support the killing of this animal.

I don't agree with it's death. How can we expect to preserve a species if we go around killing them? I think what will really hurt is if it comes out that those men or young men were in fact teasing the animal. Unless, there was nothing else that could have been done, this animal should still be alive. The cat could have been sent to a sanctuary. Perhaps another zoo could have housed it until the matter was resolved. Again, death for this tiger should have been last resort, though I am sure the zoo staff did everything in their power to stop that from happening. Moving on now to zoo animals.

You might have heard this little rant of mine before, but I think it needs to repeated. Zoo animals come in many shapes, sizes, and strengths. Some of them are docile others are aggressive. Some are venomous and some are not. They may all appear calm and docile behind their enclosures, but in many cases you don't want to get beyond the enclosure. Even zookeepers are not immuned to the power and aggression that some animals exhibit. Each year, zoo staff get hurt by the animals in their care. Zookeepers get hurt by their charges. Sadly, it does happen but it's a risk of the job. Our zoo animals couldn't survive in the wild without work, but I don't think that the wild is to far removed from their blood. The same can even be said for our exotic pets.

Exotic pets can be just as bad as zoo animals. In the wrong hands, it can be bad. It would take one sting from an emperor scorpion for someone who is allergic to bees to be in bad shape. Things can happen. I've seen bites on people who keep venomous snakes and those who keep pythons or boas. Things can happen. Now to be honest, in the twelve years that I've been keeping my pets, I've only had two possible attacks. One was from a giant millipede who had this annoying habitat of biting me. The bite was little more then a pinch that left welts. I also was sort of attacked by an emperor scorpion. I was doing a presentation for a cub scout pack, and had my hands in the tank, when I got pinched by it. From what I hear, they can draw blood. When you get an exotic pet, you need to be aware of their size and potential threats. Guys I'm out!