More than a decade after Harambe, a western lowland silverback gorilla, was fatally shot at the Cincinnati Zoo for dragging around a 3-year-old child, thankfully history didn’t repeat itself. Sadly Harambe’s fate was a judgment call because hitting him with a tranquilizer might have put the child, who had climbed into the enclosure, at greater risk.
People were on the fence as to what should’ve happened. While I believe extreme measures had to be taken as gorillas, especially male, can be aggressive and violent, better steps should’ve been taken to make sure a child couldn’t enter. No charges were filed because it was determined the mother, Michelle Gregg, was distracted by tending to her other children. And the child didn’t have any non-threatening injuries.
However, across the pond, a different story with a similar plot unfolded as a man reportedly walked into a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster in the United Kingdom. Witnesses say he told people he was wanting to get pictures and selfies. He was eventually mauled to death by Altai, a male Siberian tiger.
Warning shots were fired to drive the tiger away. But park and law enforcement officials say Altai doesn’t pose any wider risk. Of course not! He’s still in the enclosure where he lives not on the loose. Someone step into his home where he and his female companion Tschuna live. That’s what apex predators like lions, tigers and bears do. Oh my!
There was immediate outcry that Altai, only 3, was going to be unfairly euthanized for someone else’s fault. The man, whose name hasn’t been released at this time, went where he wasn’t supposed to and knowingly did it. However I still feel that because this happened in a country where there is no death penalty and extreme measures are taken for people to own firearms, kill ’em all and let God sort them out wasn’t even an option.
While Dumbo is a cherished Disney family movie, in real life, his mother, Ella Jumbo, would’ve been shot dead for protecting her . Elephants and other wild animals used in zoos and circuses were often put down for “going on rampages” when all they were doing was just responding to aggression. It’s so funny that Americans love their guns and Stand Your Ground laws but think they have a right to kill any animal that fights back.
A lot of people may not like snakes, but even the venomous ones will leave you alone if they don’t feel threatened. Cops say dogs are aggressive which is why they shoot them but dogs usually like anyone who is nice to them. They only get angry if someone is hurting them or they feel their home is being threatened. I’ve seen dogs get upset when they sense young human children are in danger.
While I extend my condolences to the family and friends of the mauled man, he did poke the hornet’s nest. He knew what he was doing. If he was suicidal, intoxicated or just plain foolish, an animal reacting to basic instincts shouldn’t have its life ended as well.
What do you think? Please comment.
