Not too long ago, I was discussing the recent whale attack at Seaworld with some people. We got to talking about various other animal attacks, and that comic seemed to fit perfectly with the eventual consensus.
An animal is an animal, no matter how well trained it is. The problem being that when an animal is in a "mood", it doesn't know restraint. Roy (of Siegfried and Roy) claimed that his tiger was simply trying to drag him to safety in the same way a mother tigress would grab her cubs by the neck. He also said that the tiger had no way of knowing that his neck didn't have the same skin thickness and toughness as a tiger's neck. There's a few things odd with his reasoning. First, he claims to have raised this tiger since it was a cub. Where exactly did this cub learn "typical tiger behavior" from? Second, he likens the tiger's action to a mother tigress, yet his tiger is male.
Anyone who's read any of my previous entries knows that I have a pet conure. Now, regardless of my conure's mood, there's really no way he's going to be able to maul and kill me. He still gets into his moods where he sometimes prefers to be left alone in his cage. Another oddity about birds is the way they fight each other. I used to think about getting a second bird, and did quite a bit of research on how birds handle company. Birds are a bit peculiar. They get very attached to their main caretaker, crave as much attention as an infant, and can develop various neurotic disorders if deprived. There are a few things that can happen when introducing another bird. The two birds can get along and be housed in the same cage. This scenario can lead the birds (regardless of sex) to become more attached to each other than you. This can make them more hostile towards when you try to interact with them. The birds can also not get along, which would mean housing them in separate cages. You'd have to divide your attention between them, which may also cause hostility towards you. What I found most disturbing is that whether they get along or not, bird fights typically end when one bird kills the other. Hard to imagine these cute guys being vicious murderers, isn't it?
This was during my recent visit to the pet store to have my bird's nails trimmed.
Anyway, the consensus was that there are just certain animals in the world that weren't meant for human entertainment. Before they tear your head off or thrash you in a pool until you drown, make sure you're willing to accept the risk involved. We preserve every human life possible, no matter how worthless. When an animal behaves like an animal, we deem it unfit to live. I remember when my last ferret was dying, someone at work asked me why I didn't just go to a veterinarian to have her put down. My first response was that if anyone was going to relieve my ferret of her suffering, it would be me. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay some stranger to do it for me. My second response was, would you have a dying family member put down? I took care of her for almost ten years.
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