HOME | DD
fennecx — Playing
Published: 2008-08-26 01:58:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 10367; Favourites: 222; Downloads: 154
Redirect to original
Description
tigerRelated content
Comments: 119
I love how gigantic the tiger looks in comparison to the handler in this shot! Incredibly awesome!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks! He's a big boy!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
shame that he is in a zoo though. But he is really the biggest tiger I have ever seen!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
So he is in a cage, doesn't make any difference to me.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
My "problem" is that such a big and beautiful animal shouldn't be in a cage. He should do what a free animal should do: running around in his own terretory and being free. That's a bloody big cat which needs a lot of space. Tigers love to wander around and I think it is always a pity to see these creatures in cages. Because I think it is wrong. Don't feel offended my it coz it is just my opinion and I don#t think you are the one responsible for the tiger being in that cage.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Is it ok for dogs and cats and birds? What makes it ok or not ok? What makes an animal free? Is free being in a dwindling and fragmented wilderness with danger of poaching, pollution, sickness, and human encroachment? He has a lot of space. Animals generally will use as much space as it takes to find food or mates. Our tigers have a lot of scent and other enrichment, their siblings, and abilities to play. They also love the challenge of operant conditioning. I am responsible for the tiger being in the cage and I am ok with that. As you can see the tiger in this photo is having an incredible time playing. You can't fake that. I get that your opposition is visceral, emotional, and dogmatic, but I feel like your judgement is based on ignorance. That, I can help with.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Ignorance? I just think that wild animals (yes, tigers are no pets like dogs and cats which shouldn't be kept in cages, too and are totally different from tigers. I also think it is wrong to keep birds in cages that's why I don't have any) just don't deserve to be in a cage. I think it is egoistic: Why do you keep the tigers? For your fun? For your pleasure? Because you believe that you can give them what they need? I doubt it. No matter how hard you try, the life in a cage cannot be the same as living free. And yes, even if that means that he will suffer in the wild from sickness etc. , at least the animal is a free living being. Normally tigers don't need humans. You make him needing humans. That is the start of captivity. The animals have to rely and depend on you. That wouldn't happen in the wild. He could hunt his own food, he could be a real tiger. Why do you play wth him? Because he is bored? Seems so.
Don't call me ignorant because I care for the animals and don't believe in this "human generosity". You are ok with your job coz you love your job. But wild animals don't love being in cages. Maybe you should ask yourself how you would like to spend your life in a cage, depending on some random people who give you your food. Would you be "ok with it"?
I am not judging you, I just think it is wrong. Those beautiful creatures deserve better.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes: Ignorance. Wild animals shouldn't be kept in cages? What about California condors? Red wolves? Mexican gray wolves? Black footed ferrets? Homework assignment: Part 1: Why were they in captivity. Part 2: Where are they now?
"Why do you keep the tigers?"
There are a number of reasons why tigers can responsibly be kept in captivity. Captive breeding so when the wild hopefully is restored to something that can honestly be called "wild" we have genetically fit individuals to release. Personally, I educate thousands of individuals a day on how endangered tigers are, why they are, and what they can do to help. How "egoistic" is that? Can I give them what they need? Proper nutrition. Excellent veterinary care. A great amount of behavioral enrichment. Yes.
Of course a wild life is different, but its also all the tigers I work with know and understand. To be in the wild would be a terrifying experience. Tigers haven't been taken out of the wild in fifty years, so for them to even be released, along with the need for a pristine habitat, it would take the type of effort that it took before gray and red wolves could be released in the US. But, Asia is not ready for that. You ever heard of TCM? That's just one huge issue. In the past century the number of wild tigers has dropped from over 100,000 tigers to less than 3,000.
Their habitats are so fragmented, their environments are so dangerous, that I would hesitate to call it "wild" at this point.
In my job I'm able to help people see these animals and make personal connections. Without those connections, these people have no reason to care. With no reason to care there is no reason to help.
I'm calling you ignorant because you don't know as much as you think you are and you speak as if you do.
Even without anthropomorphism I can easily say that the tigers I work with love their lives. And, I get the opportunity to share their lives with them.
How would I feel if I lived my life in a cage? The analogy depends on a number of factors. First, I'd need to have been born there. Live with my siblings. Get delicious meals served to me. Be challenged mentally on a regular basis. Be cared for by a compassionate number of individuals. Have a brain which is a tenth of the size of human brains compared to my body. Etc. I think I'd feel the way the tigers do. Ecstatic.
Tigers do deserve better and I am happy to spend my career working for a future where they get what they deserve. How about you?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
i like how the "free the animals" person didnt say anything after this, i think its sad that animals have to be in captivity. but its a wonderful to protect them and let us see them, i would LOVE to have your job, keep it up and help us have more animals so my children can enjoy Tigers for years to come
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks. Frankly, I was originally skeptical about animals in captivity as well as about training, etc. But in my four years of experience with everything from baboons, to hawks, to water buffalo, to tigers, I have realized that there are good situations and bad, and to group them all together out of dogmatic preconceptions can be dangerous. And that this person felt the need to voice their concerns about how badly they feel for this tiger on a photo which shows off the shear joy this cat is getting in in a captive situation like ours where we play with them and allow them to practice their predatory skills I do find mildly entertaining. These guys get fun, food, and family in an atmosphere where we can keep them healthy and safe, and the icing is that they get to help us educate people on their endangered species.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
indeed, liek you said, best to make a connection with the people and the animals, then to just let them dwindle
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
wow, hes huge
you just made me realize how big those animals are in fact
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Wow. At first I thought kitty was on the ground and was HUGE compared to a very small human. lol.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
He's a pretty small human and he's not that far off the ground.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
ack! I can't believe I didn't fave that.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I know how big they are. I've seen them a number of times up close. And yet I am always amazed every single time! Great shot!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
thank you..honestly I often forget how big they are, until they're up on their hind legs or jumping...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Or you get up close and personal, with about 6 inches of glass wall between you.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
O_o wow. Really.. wow. That's scary. I can't say anything else.. just.. wow.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Not the adjective I'd use for Ka.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Wow, i've never imagined they could be sooo big! It's beautiful.. Brave human
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks, he's not bad looking...
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
OMG the man playing with the big cat is sure have lots of guts
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Dave has more intestines than an African forest elephant.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Holy crap. That is a big animal o.o'
Great shot.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
thats an intense shot! which zoo was this taken at?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
it was taken at six flags great adventure in new jersey
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
| Next =>