I know I'm going to sound like Debbie Downer (insert a *bwomp, bwomp, BWOMMMP* sound right here) but that first video totally bummed me out. I cannot *stand* to see bored animals in captivity desperately pawing at the glass. I went to Sydney's Taronga zoo about ten years ago, and there was a miserable SNOW leopard there. NOT exactly its ideal climate, you know? I cried. Copiously. I can't handle that shit.
Furthermore, those parents had better teach their toddler to respect the gaping maw of a large, hungry animal, or that kid's gonna get his ass bit by a Doberman or something before he turns six. Right now, there's glass separating them, yes, but he's being taught that taunting an animal is cool, when it's really NOT a smart thing to do. Ever.
Yeah. I was one of those people who shrugged, smiled, and gleefully shouted "I TOLD YOU SO!" when Siegfried (or Roy, whatever) got chomped. And don't even get me *started* on morons like Timothy Treadwell.
That second video, however, is funny as shit. Humans falling down = ALWAYS funny.
@TG -- Unlike circuses, which are TOTALLY evil, I go back and forth about zoos. They educate an urban public about wildlife...but those people could also read a damned book or two about lions if they're so interested in them. I really think that I'd rather see a species become extinct in the wild than be unhappily preserved forever in captivity.
I've been mere feet away from cougars, black bears, foxes, dingos, prairie dogs, kangaroos, koalas, and even a platypus -- and there is NO comparison to seeing an animal pacing around in its cage to seeing one living its life happily in the wilderness. NONE.
Zoos (and circuses) leave me kinda cold, because the animals have no right to be locked up like that. It's just not natural and the animals can't be happy.
Meanwhile the guy falling made me laugh. I acknowledge that there is something inherently wrong with me, but I crack the fuck UP at people getting hurt on film. There's a show on Tru TV called, "It Only Hurts When I Laugh", and I find it hysterical when people fall off of a roof onto a picket fence or something.
I do not like zoos either and find them depressing. I watched with the volume off, but maybe the lioness wanted to carry the child away instead of eating him? Doesn't matter either way, but I know cats carry kittens by the scruff of their neck.
It depends on the zoo. The Minnesota Zoo, for example, has really large outdoor habitats for their animals. Most of the animals seem perfectly content to me. The Como Zoo here, though, seems absolutely awful. Teeny habitats with animals pacing back and forth. :(
That lion is not pacing out of boredom, its pacing because that baby is meal sized and oh so close! Its behaving in a perfectly natural way. My son was about 10 when a cougar in a private collection behaved that way. The rest of us were ignored but he was small for his age, just a bit too big for the cougar but he sure had its interest. And yes I have pictures of that. Zoos have come a long way since I was a kid. The animals are housed in a much better manner and are well tended and fed. Those look like well healthy lions. As for removing the child, the mother instinctively wanted to, the father thought it was funny, and it was and perfectly safe. Zoos also know what their cats are capable of and prepare for that.
I havent been to a zoo in years, not sure how I feel about them. In California there are a few parks run by conservation and education groups that put animals in a more natural habitat and still feed them on a regular schedule (like Living Desert and Safari USA). I'm interested in visiting both of those places one of these days to see if the animals are better off there, but concrete, steel and glass, not so much.
I know I'm going to sound like Debbie Downer (insert a *bwomp, bwomp, BWOMMMP* sound right here) but that first video totally bummed me out. I cannot *stand* to see bored animals in captivity desperately pawing at the glass. I went to Sydney's Taronga zoo about ten years ago, and there was a miserable SNOW leopard there. NOT exactly its ideal climate, you know? I cried. Copiously. I can't handle that shit.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, those parents had better teach their toddler to respect the gaping maw of a large, hungry animal, or that kid's gonna get his ass bit by a Doberman or something before he turns six. Right now, there's glass separating them, yes, but he's being taught that taunting an animal is cool, when it's really NOT a smart thing to do. Ever.
Yeah. I was one of those people who shrugged, smiled, and gleefully shouted "I TOLD YOU SO!" when Siegfried (or Roy, whatever) got chomped. And don't even get me *started* on morons like Timothy Treadwell.
That second video, however, is funny as shit. Humans falling down = ALWAYS funny.
The lion is smart!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU, IDA. I almost started to go on my own tirade about that and zoo's and the whole bit.
ReplyDeleteseriously, the parents found this funny? *headdesk* :(
ReplyDeleteeeek @ graduating guy...and to add to the humiliation, there's footage from multiple angles. poor dude.
That first video is disturbing. I had a hard time watching it and it wasn't even my child. Why the F would the parents continue filming?
ReplyDeleteThat would give me nightmares if it were my kid.
@TG -- Unlike circuses, which are TOTALLY evil, I go back and forth about zoos. They educate an urban public about wildlife...but those people could also read a damned book or two about lions if they're so interested in them. I really think that I'd rather see a species become extinct in the wild than be unhappily preserved forever in captivity.
ReplyDeleteI've been mere feet away from cougars, black bears, foxes, dingos, prairie dogs, kangaroos, koalas, and even a platypus -- and there is NO comparison to seeing an animal pacing around in its cage to seeing one living its life happily in the wilderness. NONE.
I know that most Zoo's are losing money due to budget crunches but damnnnnn there is no need for a lioness to be that hungry.
ReplyDeleteZoos are kind of depressing to me. The animals look dead in the eyes, mostly.
ReplyDeleteWhat Ida said. All of it. I haven't been to a zoo in years, and will never take any children to one, if I have any.
ReplyDeleteZoos (and circuses) leave me kinda cold, because the animals have no right to be locked up like that. It's just not natural and the animals can't be happy.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile the guy falling made me laugh. I acknowledge that there is something inherently wrong with me, but I crack the fuck UP at people getting hurt on film. There's a show on Tru TV called, "It Only Hurts When I Laugh", and I find it hysterical when people fall off of a roof onto a picket fence or something.
Good times. :)
Ah, the graduation memory of a lifetime...!
ReplyDeleteZoos suck. If you want to go see the animals, go see the animals.
I couldn't have left my baby there, even if there was thick glass, too scary!!
ReplyDeleteI do not like zoos either and find them depressing. I watched with the volume off, but maybe the lioness wanted to carry the child away instead of eating him? Doesn't matter either way, but I know cats carry kittens by the scruff of their neck.
ReplyDeleteAgree that zoos are definitely depressing. Every time I read a story about one escaping/attacking, etc. I think, "Weeeellll...what did you expect?"
ReplyDeleteThe second video is precisely why I did NOT want to walk at my graduation. FOBA = Fear of Busting Ass
It depends on the zoo. The Minnesota Zoo, for example, has really large outdoor habitats for their animals. Most of the animals seem perfectly content to me. The Como Zoo here, though, seems absolutely awful. Teeny habitats with animals pacing back and forth. :(
ReplyDeleteOh, and the parents are idiots for leaving their child there. Odds are the window was solid and safe, but accidents do happen.
ReplyDeleteAll I could think about was that child being in therapy 25 years down the road trying to understand his irrational fear of cats.
ReplyDeleteI thought the graduation guy looked kinda hot. I mean, not because he fell, but in spite of it.
That lion is not pacing out of boredom, its pacing because that baby is meal sized and oh so close! Its behaving in a perfectly natural way. My son was about 10 when a cougar in a private collection behaved that way. The rest of us were ignored but he was small for his age, just a bit too big for the cougar but he sure had its interest. And yes I have pictures of that.
ReplyDeleteZoos have come a long way since I was a kid. The animals are housed in a much better manner and are well tended and fed. Those look like well healthy lions.
As for removing the child, the mother instinctively wanted to, the father thought it was funny, and it was and perfectly safe. Zoos also know what their cats are capable of and prepare for that.
Ida - you are right on!
ReplyDeleteI havent been to a zoo in years, not sure how I feel about them. In California there are a few parks run by conservation and education groups that put animals in a more natural habitat and still feed them on a regular schedule (like Living Desert and Safari USA). I'm interested in visiting both of those places one of these days to see if the animals are better off there, but concrete, steel and glass, not so much.
ReplyDeleteLast time I went to the zoo (I am not a fan, for many reasons), I watched a chimpanzee poop in his hand, and then eat the poo. fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI was freaked out just watching the 1st video...how exactly is it humorous?
ReplyDelete