Exotic..
Went to an animal refuge in Arkansas yesterday. 100 big cats. Lions, tigers, bears, cougars and a coati. What is surprising is that they have all been rescued from various breeders and private individuals owning them as pets.
Declawed, tired, beaten, underfed, dumped in a garage as a cub along with motor oil and vehicle parts, scary how these people live. Seeing a majestic lion or a huge Bengal white tiger hobble along painfully because of a bad de-clawing or arthritis takes away the awe, sort of bursts the impression of strength that they are supposed to project.
Not to say that these cannot inflict harm, one swipe of that old lions paw could gut a man like a fish knife. They have been treated as pets, just the thought of having a tiger as a pet is somehow so wrong. These animals are not meant to be pets, they are to range wild. To be free.
There are apparently more than 10,000 lions and tigers across America as pets or kept for breeding. There are just over 7000 in the wild apparently.
Is the tiger going the way of the dog? Will the king of the jungle be called 'man's best friend' 50 years from now and be fed in a bowl of Purina made Lion Chow?
Declawed, tired, beaten, underfed, dumped in a garage as a cub along with motor oil and vehicle parts, scary how these people live. Seeing a majestic lion or a huge Bengal white tiger hobble along painfully because of a bad de-clawing or arthritis takes away the awe, sort of bursts the impression of strength that they are supposed to project.
Not to say that these cannot inflict harm, one swipe of that old lions paw could gut a man like a fish knife. They have been treated as pets, just the thought of having a tiger as a pet is somehow so wrong. These animals are not meant to be pets, they are to range wild. To be free.
There are apparently more than 10,000 lions and tigers across America as pets or kept for breeding. There are just over 7000 in the wild apparently.
Is the tiger going the way of the dog? Will the king of the jungle be called 'man's best friend' 50 years from now and be fed in a bowl of Purina made Lion Chow?