New York Times – Jan. 7, 2006:
Out past the strip malls and tract housing of western Palm Beach County, the lions have sidled up to tourists in sturdy cars since Disney World was still a dream.
If you followed the rules — windows up, doors locked, absolutely no pets or convertibles — you could motor among packs of the fearsome creatures at Lion Country Safari, a drive-through wildlife preserve whose residents occasionally dislodged bumpers and gnawed on side-view mirrors.
But in November, Lion Country Safari enclosed its 14 African lions in a tall chain-link fence to keep rule-breaking visitors from becoming lunch.
Too many were opening their car windows and occasionally even doors, a park official said, making the threat of lawsuits too great for the small attraction.
there’s just too many dumb people out there – ie they don’t think about the consequences of what they do….and in these litigation -ruled times what do they expect?
We could power turbine generators off darwin spinning in his grave, free energy for all. So lets see, wallmart stops donating because of lawsuit fear, the drive through safari becomes like any other zoo… exept with air conditioning. Man, makes you want to smack people with a juicy slab of steak
Now…if they made all the people sign a model release, and also a liability release, and sign the rules and go over the terms of use, and what is liable and what isn’t…”if you open the window or get out of the car, and you become lunch, it’s your ass, not ours”. Big rules, in grand bold red with black outlining….it should cover their asses. Then, put up some webcams and let the games begin! I’d watch.
Meetsy,
Talk about a new reality show, this would rake in the viewers. The relatives could be interviewed for the Darwin Awards.
When I was a kid, many nature shows (in school/on TV) like to claim that wild animals were afraid of humans and wouldn’t eat humans. I always saw these statements as lacking an understanding of the animals’ motivations (to protect and nourish themselves). There seemed to be a theory that threatened or hungry animals wouldn’t attack humans because of some universal law that humans can not be harmed by “lesser” creatures. Is this historical impression correct? Dolphins are still regarded this way…
BL
You are correct. Animals will generally avoid humans. The exceptions are:
When an animal is extremely hungry.
To protect their young.
When an animal is at the top of the food chain and has few predator fears. Lions, tigers, and most bears fall into this category.
If the animal is sick and demented, such as if it has rabies.
The animal is cornered or injured and has no escape.
Because we will rarely know if a wild animal is suffering from rabies or is protecting their young, it is not very wise to approach an animal unless there is a strong barrier separating you. That is unless you wish to be on a reality show and be a contender for the Darwin Awards.
Hello! You have very interesting blog!
I enjoy reading you blog… keep it up guys!
Respect you. Good luck you!
I’ve been to the Krüger Park in South-Africa and it was worth it! However, the most dangerous animals on Planet Earth are the ones who have lost their natural fear for humans… If you’ve seen a bunch of lions kill a zebra in front of your eyes (inside a car with the windows closed), you respect carnivores. On the other hand, you still see people hanging out of their windows wanting to catch it all on video. Morons deserve to die.