tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post4807687208397470973..comments2024-03-27T17:03:57.341-04:00Comments on Murder is Everywhere: The greatness of a nation can be judged.....Ovidia Yuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05749549092493567689noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-24742938876737273112014-05-12T03:11:17.545-04:002014-05-12T03:11:17.545-04:00There are many stories - true ones - of people mis...There are many stories - true ones - of people mistaking wild animals for tame. There is a lion park outside Johannesburg - quite a large area, but nothing like the real bush. It attracts visitors to Johannesburg who, perhaps, don't have time to go to Kruger. About 10 years ago or so, a group of Chinese visitors went there to see the King of the Jungle - and a couple of them decided to pose with the pride of lazy lying lions. So they jumped out of their car and stood behind the lions. The lions couldn't believe their luck - a sit down meal without pre-prandial exercise. Fortunately the authorities didn't feel it necessary to euthanize the lions. In fact, many of us in South Africa feel that it should be the stoopid tourists who should be helped to the afterlife.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-8483475734456980952014-05-10T19:41:56.896-04:002014-05-10T19:41:56.896-04:00Remarkable story, Caro. I, too, would rather not s...Remarkable story, Caro. I, too, would rather not see wild animals caged in zoos or kept as pets. I've seen the whales like Tillkum perform at Sea World, and it always amazed me, when the trainer balanced on the whale's nose while it propelled this puny human way up into the air, why the whale didn't just open its mouth on the way down and treat itself to a light snack. Maybe it was the neoprene wetsuit that put it off?Zoë Sharphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14065427744062846167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-73943215110887837732014-05-09T11:17:17.718-04:002014-05-09T11:17:17.718-04:00Ta Annamaria, My father in law was a beef farmer a...Ta Annamaria, My father in law was a beef farmer all his days and he was very fond of his 'beasts'. Yet, he saw the sadness of the lack of dignity of Charlie walking up the high street. He spoke to Ibrahim on more than one occasion - he just adored his elephant. Caro Ramsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08499318515241879831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-54368939075949284002014-05-09T11:13:05.230-04:002014-05-09T11:13:05.230-04:00Well, Jeff I suppose that brings new meaning to t...Well, Jeff I suppose that brings new meaning to the phrase a 'snake in the grass.' A snake on a stick sounds more like a canape! Caro Ramsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08499318515241879831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-79933923064194466962014-05-09T08:19:20.559-04:002014-05-09T08:19:20.559-04:00Caro, Wonderful post. The story of Charlie illust...Caro, Wonderful post. The story of Charlie illustrates perfectly the problem. Keeping a wild animal as a curiosity is all very cute and charming until the end comes and then it is tragic.Annamaria Alfierihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12311596277267789834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1990338437877873686.post-1246584443443946112014-05-09T03:34:54.073-04:002014-05-09T03:34:54.073-04:00As I've mentioned before, I grew up next to (n...As I've mentioned before, I grew up next to (not in) a zoo, and the sounds, sights, and smells of animals in captivity were part of my youth. <br /><br />Once my friends and I, as nine-year-olds, came across specimen jars of poisonous snakes from the zoo illegally disposed of in the woods. After breaking the jars with rocks we learned they weren't quite dead yet, so we used a lot more rocks to make sure they were. I think we were more afraid of what our parents would do to us for letting cobras run loose in the hollow than of the snakes themselves. <br /><br />I remember I was nine because that's when my mother's hair turned white, the precise moment being when I turned up at the kitchen door to surprise her with one of the dead snakes proudly displayed on a tree branch. My generally unflappable mother's scream was enough to summon the police on its own, but she still used a phone and the reporters and stories that followed cost a couple of zookeepers their jobs.<br /><br />I never had the desire to keep a pet, perhaps because of some subliminal aversion I formed in those days to so many animals living a caged existence. <br /><br />And yes, Caro, it's never crossed my mind to keep a snake as a pet...though blacksnakes and I do peacefully coexist in my farmhouse. So far.Jeffrey Sigerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718317707555064653noreply@blogger.com