[Permanent Pajamas]

It disturbs me that man will kill an animal for being an animal. There was no good reason to euthanize this lion. He was doing what lions do.

In my view, we don't value the creatures we share this planet with. We cage them, feed them what we consider to be an adequate diet, not really knowing if it is, and then wonder why they see us as a food source.

This lion was hungry. That's all. And we shot him for it.

Disgusting.

DUNLAP -- A 24-year-old woman who volunteered at Project Survival's Cat Haven in the foothills east of Fresno was killed Wednesday when she was attacked by a 4-year-old male African lion in its enclosure.

A co-worker tried in vain to draw the lion away from the woman and into another enclosure. An arriving Fresno County sheriff's deputy, seeing the lion would not let anyone provide medical aid to the woman, shot and killed the animal.

The woman, who was described as an intern, was badly mauled and died at the scene.

Full article - Female volunteer mauled to death by lion at Cat Haven sanctuary

[Open Eyes]

I understand how you feel about that. The problem is that once an animal like this learns to harm or kill a human, it becomes much more dangerous. That is why animals that attack humans, even kill humans are destroyed because they then learn they can overcome a human being and know the taste and smell of human blood. Once that takes place that is something never forgotten which makes an animal like this even more dangerous. That is why it is so important that human beings make sure they are not in a position for this situation to take place, we have to be the ones that "think" and "prevent".

[Permanent Pajamas]

I disagree. We assume we know what is best. We shoot these animals indiscriminately when they could, instead, be tranquilized. This fallacy that they develop a taste for human blood is ridiculous. Chemically, blood is blood.

Big cats are becoming rarer and rarer. In the Ohio case the police shot 56 animals, the majority of them big cats. They could have been tranquilized.

We breed these animals and pretend, as a species, that we are preserving their legacy. Few bigger lies have been uttered.

How are we preserving their legacy when we put a bullet in them for doing what they do to survive? We aren't.

The human animal doesn't deserve what he has. He destroys everything he touches. If there is any true justice he will be wiped out by his own arrogance.

[KathyM]

It's a tragic situation all around.

I cringed when the young woman's father said she had no fear of the big cats and how she enjoyed having her picture taken with them. No fear is a good thing.....but it should be coupled with the same amount of respect - be it a ***** cat or a big cat.

I got the impression she viewed them as "exotic pets" and/or a chance to show others her ability to control dangerous/powerful animals. I know she's not alone. People have been doing it for ages, but I've never really been impressed with lion tamers. I'm not impressed with some of the tricks they can make animals do for them - poor animals.

Preserving, sheltering, and rehabilitating them appears to be at the other end of the spectrum. Why is it necessary to have African lions in California? Do they plan to rehabilitate them and release them back into the wild? How powerful is their ability to control their "exotic pets" - strong enough to keep them in line in the event of an earthquake or some other natural disaster?

If/when they get loose, I'd prefer tranquilizing the animals over killing them - but then where would they go? Back to another shelter where it can happen again with someone who thought they were "good" with cats and promptly euthanized? In what way does this preserve the species?

IMO, it's not preservation - it falls under the category of "entertainment only."

My thoughts and prayers go out to the young woman's family, and may she rest in peace.

[Permanent Pajamas]

Recently I had the opportunity to go to the circus. I declined. Wild animals in captivity disgusts me.

Making them perform for us - despicable.

Its a sad story all around. The young woman who was killed was doing something she believed in. I'm not sure about the point of that taste for human blood comment. This was no hunting situation and male lions rarely hunt anyway. They aren't built for hunting. Human blood probably has more salt and cholesterol but ...
I would guess that this place is mostly a shelter where big cats end up after the silly humans who think they would make good pets have realized that they do not make good pets when they get too big to handle and lose their cuteness.
Wild animals belong in the wild. Unfortunately the wild is shrinking due to human encroachment. Eventually the habitats will be lost to civilization.
I'm not sure there is any reason to preserve the species if they have no natural habitat. I agree... it's tough sharing a world with humans.

[Permanent Pajamas]

Originally Posted by George H.

. . . I'm not sure there is any reason to preserve the species if they have no natural habitat. I agree... it's tough sharing a world with humans.

It's time for humans to return habitat by controlling their breeding habits. The planet is trying to tell us something.

[Pikku Myy]

All I can say... sad situation all the way around If my evil cat Ninja was any larger than 9 lbs... I am positive she would eat someone.....

Ditto ... tragic.

I feel quite certain that for as much as humans wish to be in denial about predator animals (and who love them and want to be with them and take care of them and love on them), they should also consider themselves dinner at some point. Or at least a late night snack. At no point, should one think for one second they are "friends" or even remotely "safe" with a wild animal. Even in captivity.

It was not the lion's fault. Poor guy. Breaks my heart.

Originally Posted by Pikku Myy

All I can say... sad situation all the way around If my evil cat Ninja was any larger than 9 lbs... I am positive she would eat someone.....

[heartexplodes]

I can see both sides of the situation.

I always feel the same as when here in Australia we go out and hunt down sharks that have attacked people. 1 - we were in their home to begin with 2 - they don't even know 100% if they are killing the correct animal to begin with 3 - it's their nature, just like it is ours to to be hungry and to attack when feeling threatened.

However, on the flip side, we are the top of the food chain. We didn't get to be the population we are by letting everything that can kill us do so.

It's not the lions fault at all, but we're going to protect our own kind above others. Same goes for many other species as well. Just nature I'm afraid.

[Open Eyes]

What I posted about the taste of "human blood" is how it was explained to me when I asked why years ago.

It is sad that these animals are losing their habitats on our planet, human beings are often "selfish" unfortunately. If it wasn't for those that fight to preserve the wildlife on our beautiful planet, many would have been extinct long ago.

It might be noted that the situation was unfortunate all around certainly but first responders were dealing with a loose lion who was likely pretty alarmed and unpredictable. Police don't carry that kind of hardware and the time it takes to go find that equipment [or calling an animal control crew etc.] just wasn't available.

I don't know if the place was otherwise secure...perhaps they may have been able to evacuate keeping the lion contained but seriously, all this info gathering and the time it would take to implement an alternative plan would be too large a risk. After all in seconds one person was dead and a loose pissed off 400/500 pound lion is what it is. Loose outside the perimeter wasn't a chance they could hazard.

Sad when I learned the young woman had referred to it as her dream job. She loved being around these animals no doubt. Zoos etc., will always be and seeing these animals in the flesh may be interesting but would be depressing as hell for me. I'll pass.

[Permanent Pajamas]

It was a big cat sanctuary. They likely had tranq equipment.

[Nicks_Nose]

If they had tranquilizing equipment such as a tranquilizer gun, on site, then why didn't they use it prior to police arrival? I doubt they had it.

[yellowted]

man robbed lions of their habitat and killed them for fun, resulting in lions seing man as a threat. lion is simply being lion, just as man would kill a threat so to will a lion! this girl was in the lions home, what did she expect? she should never have been in there unless a person armed and trained to tranq was on scene..basic comon sense and safety in such places i would have thought.

[lizardlady]

I'm going to admit upfront I didn't follow the link. Am protecting my mental health by not reading it. I don't think I could handle reading it right now. So I'm going to respond based on what I've gleaned from other's posts.

I agree the situation is sad all around. A young woman has lost her life doing what she loved. A lion, who was doing what lions do, has lost it's life. Combine that with the situation did not have to exist in the first place. Big cat sanctuaries come into being because humans try to keep the cats either as pets or as entertainment. Wild animals belong in the wild - period. They are not pets and they should not be used to provide "entertainment" for humans.

I'm not going to pass judgment on the police officer who shot the lion. I wasn't there and don't know enough about the situation to know if he should or should not have shot the cat.

[Amazonmom]

She made a fatal mistake not paying attention to where that lion was and what it was doing while she cleaned the enclosure area. They shot the lion to get it away from her body, and since it is highly unusual for sanctuary animals to attack keepers it was destroyed to test for rabies or similar diseases. Barbary lions are extinct in the wild. The goal of breeding programs like this is eventually to reintroduce them into the wild. It's sad all around.

[Permanent Pajamas]

Yeah, dumb all the way around. What a waste.

[Maven]

I was horrified by this news story. I don't know all the details, but I wish they hadn't shot the lion. As I understand, the lady died quickly from her neck being snapped (or that's what the news reported), so hopefully, she didn't suffer much. If they knew she was dead, there wasn't much reason to shoot the lion, IMO. I haven't read all the posts in this thread (I usually do, but I need to get to bed soon), so please forgive me if I've talked about something that's already been covered.

An excerpt from NatGeo, which I find to be right on.

NatGeo asked two leading big cat experts to weigh in on the tragedy:
Craig Packer, a 2012 National Geographic Waitt grantee and ecologist at the University of Minnesota; and conservation scientist Luke Dollar, grant-program director of the National Geographic Society's Big Cats Initiative.

CP: Lions attract a lot of attention: Lion Country Safari, the Lion King, Born Free, Chronicles of Narnia, the Cowardly Lion, etc. They are big fluffy mammals with cute cubs and affectionate family relationships.

Most of the time they seem relaxed and cuddly—so it's easy to forget that they react to meat with the reflexive instincts of a shark. Ten years ago Roy Horne (of Siegfried and Roy) was attacked by a tiger that they had handled for years—these attacks happen when people forget about the shark inside.

Can wild animals like lions be domesticated?

LD: To take a big cat and treat it as a pet is ill advised. It really is wonderful to love and respect these creatures, but it is truly folly [to think] that one can commune and be friends with them. We have learned that lesson over and over, whether it's with bears or big cats or venomous snakes.

We have this fascination [with dangerous animals such as lions] because of their potential lethality, but for some reason we still cross the line that should never be crossed. ... Anthropomorphization is a dangerous thing. These are wild animals—this is not Simba from the Lion King.


California Death Prompts Questions About Lion Attacks

[ThisWayOut]

While I agree that there are just some animals that should not be kept as pets, I think saying that we should kill them the minute they do anything "wrong" (our perception, but quite natural from the animal's point of view) because exotic animals should not be kept as pets is just as wrong as keeping them. The reality is that they are here in our lives. People will always be fascinated with "keeping" them, and if we take away the resources to house them once they are no longer good pets, we just make it easier for those same people to acquire new young ones that are still cute and "innocent". People need to advocate and educate on this topic.
Years ago, dogs were thought to go feral if they ever bit a human being once, with the "taste of blood" driving them. We have learned since then. We figured out that dogs bite for a variety of reasons - fear, aggression, pain, hunger... the same is true for these big cats. I feel very bad for the young woman's family. I feel bad that she made the mistake of going into the enclosure alone without first securing the lion where he could not get to her.
I also hope that the police are better trained... and this speaks to handling dogs also. I can't tell you how many times I have read a story about how a panicked cop shot a barking dog because s/he was afraid of a bite. I have worked with and lived with dogs since I was 5. Only once did I experience a dog bite out of aggression (working at the pound), and even then the dog was able to release without too much damage. I know maulings happen, I have seen the reports. But when you look into the situation around the mauling, you find the little things that hinted at its coming...
We don't know nearly enough about these huge exotic animals (just a fraction of what we know about domestic dogs, and look how we can screw them up) to let our guard down for a moment. I keep reptiles. I have a few snakes that are or will be quite large when full grown. I also know that I am always learning about them. I know my limits, and I know how to handle my animals. I also know that I do not know nearly everything about them. Once in a while, my completely mellow lizard will turn around and bite me for seemingly no reason... then I find out later he was scared or sick or smelled a predator/the opposite sex on me. If that young woman had just been cleaning someone else's enclosure, the lion might have felt threatened from the other animals's scent. He may have been hurt or feeling sick. He may have felt aroused if there was another lion nearby in season... We won't ever know for sure, but I think it's important to remember when dealing with "wild" animals. Even the ones kept in the best of conditions can have an off moment. I think it sucks that our first reaction is still to kill something, then ask questions later. I had hoped that as a species, we had evolved further...