Thursday, June 23, 2011

King of the Beasts



Disturbing, yes. But, in what way?

23 comments:

czar said...

Shows that people generally fear what they are taught to fear? Kid seems unconcerned, and it's not like that's going to happen to him in the backyard and he'll be thinking, "Big kitty wants to play with me again."

If the parents had freaked out and snatched the kid away while the parents were screaming, you'd probably have a little tyke who grew up scared of the zoo.

That's one angle.

Karl said...

Good afternoon Moi,

Intellect overpowering instinct?

@ Cazr: Out west issues with Mountain Lions are happening more often. Depending on where he lives it could happen in his backyard.

chickory said...

my irritant is baiting zoo animals with snacks. then one day, a lion will get a kid, and he will be put down. remember the morons a few years back that climbed in the tiger cage? the tiger paid with his life - for being a tiger. now i hear all kinds of parents are making you tubes of these toddler teases. i sort of hate zoos.

Pam said...

Disturbing because I think the lion is hungry enough to eat a little kid ... is the zoo feeding them enough? They should be fat and lazy and lying in the sun, not pacing the windows trying to put the heads of babies in their mouth. Definitely looking for lunch. Hmmmmmm.

Jenny said...

I think that big kitty just wants to pick up the pretty "ball" and "play" withy it. Hee? No? it's a cool video and I see the potential horor, etc. Chickory is right, some idiot also climbed over a zoo wall to swim with a polar bear a few years ago in Berlin. Why does the wild animal have to pay for stupidity?

czar said...

@Karl: Good point. Around here, depending on how rural you get, the backyard dangers run the gamut from bears to portable meth labs to fugitives. The last is often related to the next-to-last.

My son says he saw a wolf about half a mile from here on his way home late at night, though. Nonoutdoorsman such as he is, like dear old dad, I asked him how he knew it was a wolf. Said he saw them in London all the time.

I guess Warren Zevon was right.

moi said...

Czar: I would think being scared of a zoo is good. Being scared of all big animals that can eat you, even better.

Karl: I've seen mountain lion tracks a couple times out here. One was killed on I-40 this spring, and a couple years ago, one snatched a toddler right off a popular, well-walked trail at the top of the mountains. City women worry about muggers and rapists; I worry about big cats.

Chickory: You hit the nail on the head. The disturbing thing here, is that the lion is behind glass and not in Africa. Zoos suck.

Pam: I don't think it has much to do with hunger. More with instinct. Small thing moving, looks like prey, must kill. Also, I imagine small children are delicious :o)

Boxer: This was most likely torture for the lion.

Czar: Now there's a damn shame right there: Warren Zevon being dead.

LaDivaCucina said...

Poor lion getting teased by the little snack! I hate this cuz I hate zoos like this and I hate that the lion is getting teased. Haha, isn't it cute that he can't get baby? (One day he will though)

I think the baby has no fear because the lion probably seems like he's on TV to the kid, can't smell it, can't touch it, probably doesn't even realize it's real. However, it's nice to see the lion a bit more, er, active, as you never really see lions at zoos do anything but sleep, which has always been depressing for me to see.

I DO like the plains zoos where the animals have room to roam (like the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Australia)

Buzz Kill said...

I encourage my kids to taunt wild animals. What?

Aunty Belle said...

I'se wif' BuzzK on this. The parents is a few marbles short.

czar said...

@LaDiva:

"I think the baby has no fear because the lion probably seems like he's on TV to the kid, can't smell it, can't touch it, probably doesn't even realize it's real."

Tangentially related: Read an interesting article years back which basically said gays and lesbians are popular TV characters because when they're only six inches tall, people don't view them as a threat.

Although it doesn't seem like 52-inch screens have changed things much.

Maybe size doesn't matter.

chickory said...

OT: the winners of the bohemia beer thing were

camacho, ortiz and padilla.
*grrrrrrrrrherhahahahhahaha*

moi said...

LaDiva: I'm fine with game preserves, etc., but I find zoos horrifying. Good point about the child thinking the lion was on television.

Buzz: Heh. And don't you just love the way the lion opened her mouth right over the child's head? A perfect fit!

Aunty: Most parents are a few marbles short. Can you blame them?

Czar: Television stunts your growth!

Chickory: You wuz robbed, homes.

Kymical Reactions said...

I loved this video. And at first, I don't think the lioness is trying to eat the baby, but instead acts as if baby is some sort of play toy object.

Now, when lioness starts pacing from side window to side window, that seems more of a chase to catch kind of behavior.

I think that if the lion were truly trying to catch to eat, we would have seen more of a stalking/crouching/pouncing behavior.

Now, would lion do serious harm or cause death to baby if caught? Yes. But in this video, I don't see a lion looking for a snack, but rather something new to play with.

There is a wonderful local "tiger safari zoo" not to far from where I live. There are big cats of all varieties, and the "cat toys" that are seen in the cages are bowling balls. Big 16 pounder bowling balls. This baby looks probably look a bit bowling ball-ish from the lion's perspective.

I think this lion sees baby as a toy, not a snack.

moi said...

Kym: Huh. Could be. Your kitty cat experience far exceeds mine, so you would recognize those behaviors better than I. Unfortunately, snack or toy, neither works out best for baby!

Bretthead said...

Well, people aren't supposed to be two inches away from wild animals. If you put some glass between me and a frosted donut, I'm going to be just like that cat!

moi said...

WTWA: In my dreams, donuts grow on trees, unfettered by locked doors and display cases, free for all to pluck and eat at will, with no fear of clogged arteries or bulged bellies, as they are chock-a-block full of all the healthful benefits of a bowl of broccoli and boast the caloric count of a leaf of lettuce.

LaDivaCucina said...

Well, when I think of the lion playing, it's instinctive for him to play, like in all kitties. Just like it's instinctive for a shark to bump or bite you to see if you will taste good. You might NOT taste good, but too late, he still bit you and you could die from blood loss.

So no matter if the baby was dinner or a toy, he dead. haha! I'll take a custard filled please, ta.

LaDivaCucina said...

To Czar: Kids don't see lesbian or gays on TV, only adults do!

czar said...

@LaDiva:

I think the article goes back to Will and Grace days. And I don't think there's any confusion on, say, Modern Family, even for kids.

moi said...

La Diva: Toddler: It's what's for dinner.

Czar: Now there's a time machine television moment: Will and Grace. I always liked that boozy Karen gal a lot.

Heather Cherry said...

Aw, she just wanted to nom him a lil' bit.

moi said...

Heather: Baby! It's what's for dinner.