Dead things

I haven't said anything yet about the tragic tiger attack at the San Fran zoo.  But now I need to speak out.  Read this.  I am incredibly upset that people are trying to diminish the failure of the zoo by ginning up talk about taunting and alcohol.

Here are the facts:

1) There were people at the zoo who may have been misbehaving.

2) A tiger escaped from her pen.

3) The pen was not properly secured.

4) The tiger attacked three people, killing one.

5) The tiger, an endangered animal acting on instinct, was killed to protect innocent people.

Guess what?

Four of those five facts are material facts.  That is, they have a real bearing on this tragedy.  One of them does not.  Guess which one?

The first one.

Tigers are endangered.  They are precious.  They need to be protected.  That protection means not only protecting them from harm, but preventing them from harming people.  After all, if the tiger can harm people, it becomes necessary to kill the tiger.

Tigers are animals.  They do not have free will.  They act on instinct.  They can't think about whether their actions are right or wrong.  They can only do what their instinct tells them.  Their instinct is to hunt, attack, kill, and eat other creatures.  Their instinct is to strike hard and fast at anything they consider a threat.  They have no fear.  They have no pity.  They exist to kill.  That's what they do.

Tigers can also jump.  I mean, they can jump.  Don't believe me?  Watch this.  Caution: it will scare the hell out of you.

Now, experts knew that the tigers at the San Fran zoo could jump across the moat and over the wall.  Read this for more details.  And this.  And, most alarming, this.  Even though zoo officials are acting as though they did nothing wrong, it seems pretty clear that everyone involved knew there was a problem.  Yet, nothing was done to remedy the problem - and all that needed to be done was to run three feet of chain link along the top of the wall!

Tigers live to kill.  Tigers can jump.  Moats and walls were known to be too short.  No corrective action was taken.  Therefore, it was inevitable that, at some point, one of these tigers would escape, hunt, attack, and kill a human at the zoo.  Whether or not that human was taunting the tiger is immaterial.  Whether or not that human was drinking vodka is immaterial.  It is just a distracting coincidence.  The tiger could just as well have made her escape as a group of innocent nuns and well-behaved school children were standing in the way.  Right now, instead of talking about taunting and drinking, we might have pictures of mutilated kids on the nightly news.  It wouldn't be the kids' fault.  It wouldn't be the tiger's fault.  It would be the zoo's fault.

One person is dead.  Taunting an animal and drinking in public might be infractions, but they are hardly worth a death sentence.  An endangered tiger is dead.  There was little choice but to kill it - but that choice need not have been made - and a dead person would still be alive - if the zoo had acted responsibly and improved the moat and wall when the problem was known and documented.

But now the lawyers are involved, and as such they are trying to shift attention from the real blame, and instead distract us with tales of taunting and vodka.

To hell with them!

A human life is gone.  A natural treasure is gone.  The only people to blame are the zoo managers.  End of story.  And the story disgusts me to no end. 

Comments

[Alan Bluehole]

It always behooves us to have the most information possible. Yes. The zoo had insufficient housing/habitat, etc., but yes, we absolutely should know WHY the tiger escaped. And I believe those guys were taunting the animals.

[kara]

I hear ya! Just got an email from PETA. They are gathering signatures to support the permanent closure of the tiger exhibit.

[Gullyborg]

why did the tiger escape? simple: it wanted to get out and there was nothing to stop it.

it might have wanted out if it saw a bird fly by.

it might have wanted out if the clouds were just right.

it might have wanted out because a lady with big hair got too close to Roy Horn.

none of that matters.

what matters is: the zoo KNEW the tiger COULD get out and did nothing.

[max]

I posted on that incident a few times over on my blog - http://maxredline.typepad.com/maxredline/2008/01/just-what-can-y.html - being one example.

The fundamental premise when maintaining captive wild animals is that the enclosure must contain them NO MATTER WHAT.

Guests at zoos do stupid things all the time. They cross barriers to get closer to the animals, and even worse. Personally, I once forcibly removed a woman who had climbed over a railing and was holding her small child out so that the kid could "pet" the trunk of a bull elephant.

She was outraged, and informed me that elephants are just domestic animals. Many, if not most, guests know absolutely nothing about the capabilities of the animals with which they attempt to interact. And while it's not possible to "idiot-proof" an exhibit, it is inexcusable to construct a facility that affords the animal any possibility of escape.

What is the most dangerous animal in the zoo?

The architect.

[Gullyborg]

what amazes me about such people as elephant mom is this:

imagine the animal in the exhibit was a barking pit bull. I can guess that she would NEVER have held her kid over the fence - even though pit bulls are nothing other than domesticated animals.

people are idiots. the animals need to be secure not just to keep the people safe, but to keep the animals safe from the idiots.

[sam wiseman]

that was the most self-centered and chauvinistic article I have ever read. Have some respect for nature and remember that we do not own it, rather are just a small part of it. Those retards got what they deserved. You don't taunt a wild animal...especially a tiger locked up in an exhibit, and expect it to ignore you. And tigers are not ruthless killing machines...you make it sound as if humans are the saintly proprietors of the earth. Go home you backwards fruit, and spend your time on a more important subject. you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Gullyborg]

What a load of crap. A death sentence is NOT appropriate for taunting an animal or drinking in public.

Hell, you are now taunting me. That's it. You should die.

You stupid ignorant fuckwad.

Think tigers aren't killing machines? Fine. Go walk around the India countryside. Don't drink alcohol. Don't carry a slingshot. Mind your own business. Have no ill will towards precious Gaia Earth Mother and her precious little furry creatures.

Don't expect a tear from me when you get eaten you stupid git.