If you've listened to the news lately you might have heard the story about the teens at the San Francisco Zoo. Apparantly a couple of kids were drunk and high and were mocking the tiger. The tiger escaped his confines and killed and maimed the teens.
So now the zoo representatives are out there spreading the word that it is not the zoo's fault and that the tiger should not have been provoked.
So apparantly the zoo feels that the appropriate punishment for yelling and waving and making silly faces at the tiger is the death penalty.
There is a lagoon at a local park. During the warm months, right now it is zero farenheit outside, I take may kids there and we play in the park and watch the ducks in the lagoon.
Big signs are posted all over the fence sorrounding the lagoon. The signs say, "please don't feed the ducks." There are also signs explainsing why, explaining that these animals are on a scientific and natural diet and that bread and etc that is fed to them disturbs their systems, creates waste, illness, rodents etc. The signs could not be more clear and prominent. Every single time we go there I see people bring big big bags of white bread and throw loaves of foodstuff to the ducks.
I've been to zoos all over the place. In Israel my sis-in-law, after watching people feeding the animals despite all the signs, said something to the dad ignoring the signs. The dad berated her and kept throwing food at the bear. A zoo attendant was called and the dad berated him as well.
My little girl asked me why those people were feeding the ducks and couldn't she as well. I felt bad for her. But I explained that those people were really really bad evil nasty people who didn't mind destroying this beutiful place for their own amusement.
So if waving at a tiger is the death penalty these scum should at least have their eyes pecked out.
Here is what I find most interesting: it is always the adults. The kids don't mind not feeding the ducks or animals. They are happy to see the animals. It doesn't occur to them to feed the animals. They have to be trained by their parents or other adult gaurdian to want to feed the animals and ignore the signs. When I take my kids to the lagoon I don't bring a bag of bread with, other people come prepared to behave in that manner.
You want to feed a duck go buy a duck. Don't ruin a public facility for your ego.
3 comments:
it is probably a cover. the study is probably to see how people react to instructions on signs. I am willing to bet that if there were no signs, most people would not feed the ducks... they just like bucking the system...
and you are probably right - the kids would not even think of it on their own. The parents hand the kid some bread or peanuts and say wouldn't it be cute if we got a picture of you feeding the monkeys? they also want to feel like naturalists, as if they are sheperds or something tending to the herd...
In fact, I frequently see kids whining and crying because the parent is throwing all the food to the animal and only gives the kid bits and peices.
I mean geez, if you're going to screw it up for everyone else at least let your kid have the joy of being an ass.
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