I used to think that man and beast walked side by side peacefully, that was when I was a child. Some fantasies continue on from childhood with dangerous consequences. Our insistence on housing tigers and lions in zoos with ‘trained’ keepers will only lead to disaster, but it’s a lesson we insist on ignoring.
Yesterday a tiger attacked its keeper at a gold coast zoo.
As a Gold Coast tiger handler was walking with the tiger, the handler was mauled by the tiger suffering lacerations and puncture wounds. She was treated by paramedics on scene and taken to Gold Coast university hospital. Fortunately, she remains in a stable condition.
QAS Acting Director, Justin Payne commented, saying “We don’t know how long she’s been working there, but she is one of the experienced and senior handlers there at Dreamworld and we believe she was well trained.”
While shocking, the attack should come as no surprise. While I do not consider myself an animal rights activist, there is a palpable cruelty that leads to these kinds of self inflicted attacks. We are dealing with predators from nature who are at the top of the food chain.
I stopped believing that humans and wild animals could live in peace when I realized animals were dangerous. Modern zoos haven’t awakened from this fantasy.
The attack demonstrates one thing, some animals cannot be tamed and domesticated, not least tigers. Anytime humans insist on ‘close’ relationships with lions, tigers, bears and wolves, attacks like these remind us that, regardless of perceived bonding between human and wild beast, these animals can snap at any moment.
By having ‘handlers’, zoos are putting the lives at risk.
Social media has not helped either. The multitude of videos of people hugging, kissing and wrestling with bears, wolves, lions and tigers contribute to the delusion that a mutually non-dangerous relationship between man and beast can be enjoyed.
The idea that bonding will build a trust within a dangerous animal may be true for the most part, until it isn’t. The moment the animal experiences a short fuse, for whatever reason, things can turn sideways. The Gold Coast handler is extremely fortunate to have survived the attack and while the media will focus on the atrocity of the attack, it will ignore the precipitating factors that contributed to it. Namely, why was a 300kg tiger ever walking side by side with anyone?
If there is one lesson to be learned it is this: humans ought to stay clear of wild animal predators.
We have no business attempting to forge close attachments with predators. The desire is also rooted in ego. Zoos and handlers alike perform shows for the public where they feed, touch and caress animals for hundreds of amazed onlookers. While impressive, it is a flawed attempt to demonstrate human mastery of nature. This latest attack in the gold coast should act as a chilling reminder to all of us, there are some things we should not attempt.
Ignorance begets ignorance, if any lessons are to come from the attack, surely one must be that the assumption that humans can enjoy close bonds with ‘trusting’ Tigers was profoundly erroneous.
