Whatcha thinking about now?

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Truthfully thinking about how that gorilla didn't need to die. A foolish woman who can't keep track of her kids, a crowd of screaming idiots who make the situation worse and a zoo that didn't get control over the situation to reduce the stress and confusion in the enclosure. A sad day for us all I think and another endangered creature dead because of human stupidity and laziness.

My parents often took me to the Bronx Zoo when I was little. I used to want to go into the polar bear's pool, but it sure as heck wasn't going to happen. This could easily escalate into a huge debate and I've already seen enough of that, so I'm just gonna say that perhaps endangered species in or aimed towards breeding programs should not be viewable by the general human public. No amount of barriers, signage, labels, warnings, etc. will ever be enough to ensure the safety of all involved. R.I.P. Harambe.

[anunitu]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

There was recently an ADULT that got into a polar bear Enclosure. Can't remember if the person was killed or not.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

There was recently an ADULT that got into a polar bear Enclosure. Can't remember if the person was killed or not.

I remember seeing the bears in their big pool with large blocks of ice on a hot day - it looked pretty good to me!

[anunitu]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Story here...stupid human.

[thalassa]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I think that sometimes a tragedy is a tragedy, and instead of pointing fingers in one direction, we should accept that there's a little bit of blame to be held in all directions.


Who has never done something they shouldn't? Who has never done something that was a mistake, or stupid, or unsafe, or made a bad judgment call?


Go ahead, cast the first stone so I can call you a liar.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I think that sometimes a tragedy is a tragedy, and instead of pointing fingers in one direction, we should accept that there's a little bit of blame to be held in all directions.


Who has never done something they shouldn't? Who has never done something that was a mistake, or stupid, or unsafe, or made a bad judgment call?


Go ahead, cast the first stone so I can call you a liar.

I married my ex. Doesn't get much worse!!
I am very vigilant with my Grey when he's out of his cage, though, and have nothing nice to say about people who think their cat is friendly to parrots, or that he won't land on a hot stove, or he'll stay on their shoulder outside because it's "only for a minute", etc. I understand that's not 24/7 vigilance like what's required with a human child, but it has been 26 1/2 years. Could something bad happen? Sure. But the odds are low that it'll be negligence on my part. Senility maybe, but not negligence. (Just the other day I left a pair of sandals out on the deck for a few hours. I don't normally leave anything unattended. So, yes, things happen.)

[thalassa]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

In the time that it took me to move a load of laundry from the washer the drier and to put a new load in the washer my 22 month old son woke up from his nap, climbed out of his crib, went through a "child-safe" door handle cover, toddled down a flight of stairs, climbed onto the kitchen table, around the counters, opened a cupboard door, scaled the cabinets, and somehow maneuvered himself onto the top of the refrigerator where he opened another set of cabinets and pulled out a giant jar, managed to unscrew the top of the jar, and proceeded to stuff his face full of cookies.

He also made it, in the amount of time it took me to use the restroom, out the same crib and door, down the same stairs, and out the back door with its doorknob cover and 5 separate locking mechanisms--a deadbolt, a hook lock, a chain lock, a slidey latch, and a second slidey latch at the top (reached by dumping out his toy box and putting it on a chair solved that problem) and alarm (which he figured out how to turn off), to take his Cozy Coupe out on the road. Mind you, the extra locks were because it wasn't the first time he'd made it outside on his own.

Kids are fast and nothing is childproof.

And when you have more than one child, you can't possibly supervise every single move they make 24/7. At some point, you depend on their ability to listen and follow directions and stay on task. And sometimes children think for themselves. Or maybe they have a learning disability or other special needs. Kids don't come with cages. Short of putting a leash on a child (and those aren't fool-proof either, plus you get **** for that as a parent too), there's no way to guarantee that a child will stay put next to you the entire time that you go somewhere. If there were, there'd never be a child lost at a store while their caregiver tries to figure out which soup they have the coupon for either.

99.99% of the time when a parent takes their attention off their kid for 5 seconds or 5 minutes, nothing happens. I have dozens of stories of when my kids *could have* gotten hurt, and didn't because they did *something* outside of my attention (and sometimes with my attention and too slow of a reaction or failure to anticipate their pending action). But the one in a thousand times when something does, everybody acts like they are the parenting expert. And if a parent thinks that their children would never escape their attention to do something unsafe (because they are somehow the perfect parent), they are either deluded, lying, abusive, or have doormats for children.



As for shooting the gorilla...we can debate the wisdom of zoos in general all day long, and the value of human life over that of a member of another species, but...unless someone has worked in a zoo, or otherwise been responsible for public safety in an environment with large wild animals that can kill an adult (much less a child) in just a few seconds being panicked by a panicky public that don't always react well to being show with tranquilizers, their opinion is woefully uninformed. I don't know of anyone (and I do know a couple people with jobs that require this sort of decision making) that does this for a living that wouldn't have made the same decision. And they would have been heartbroken over it.

[faye_cat]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I just saw the full version of the video and I honestly don't believe the gorilla was only helping the child. The beginning of the video the gorilla drags him to another part of the water, stands him up and sits there, but then he knocks him face first down and takes off dragging him through the water. Maybe he was just playing, maybe he was hostile, I don't know. I'm not trained on gorillas and I don't know the specific gorilla, but I do not blame the staff for the call they made. It saddens me that the situation happened, period. Sad for the kid, the parents, the staff, and especially for the gorilla, but I don't believe hate should be thrown at those involved.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Personally, I think city kids have a safety advantage. I was taught about traffic and strangers very early. I stopped on a dime at every curb or else! I see kids around here (suburbs/rural) blindly run into the street and it freaks me out! But in the end it's up to the parents to reinforce/ forbid things.

[Medusa]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I won't cast blame because it's true, little kids move like Quicksilver.
But I'd be ok with either dying or living. It's a kid I don't care about and an animal I don't care about.

[anunitu]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Kids are FAST...as Thal pointed out,they can amaze you with their ability to get out of things,and get up on things.
One example was my son in his child proof car seat as I was driving,he was in the seat on the front seat right next to me(I hear now a no no using front seat) BUT I turned my head to look at him,and he was Standing up and somehow had managed to get out of several binding belts. I had to pull off on the freeway to restrain him again. Freaking Houdini that kid was.

- - - Updated - - -

I should mention that my mom had a halter thing with a leash on me most of when I was very little...I tended to be an adventurous kid

Seems they still carry them.


- - - Updated - - -

My daughter in law is sooooooooo glad her two are mostly out of the terrible times 2- to about 5 depending. She asked when that crazy time ended..my ex and me just laughed and laughed...I know Grand parents can be cruel sometimes.......

[Medusa]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

It's a half half thing. Some kids are quicker than others because they are curious. I get it.
But then...we have these small 50 cents colorful safety blades on the counter in a box. They look like red or blue sticks with a blade. The blades slide open with just your little finger. Kids all day play with these IN FULL FRONT of their parents. Time and time again I've said 'hey, your kid is going to lice off his finger'. Oh. Yeah. Uh. Stop that. Then the kid bends down and picks up a hex key set and 'hey, your kid is going to smash his finger'. The kids play on the tool displays. Stand and monkey bar on 1 ton engine stands. Parents. Some are completely crapstastic. And I figure those genes are probably going to carry that on. So if one dies in a pit as ape snack...so be it. The world is better. I won't blame. But I'm not gonna cry over it either. The world don't care. And if the parent don't care, that kid is fucked.

[anunitu]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

I never let my kids screw around in ANY store,PERIOD. It is not only bad manners,but disruptive to the store staff,and it is NOT their job to handle your kids.

I feel for you Duce,and should something happen despite your warnings,the freaking parents would try to sue the store no doubt.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

A large part of this story is the gorilla's endangered status. Yes, there still would have been a loss of life had it been a common animal, but it wasn't. I wonder what this child will grow up to do with his own saved life? Let's hope something good.

[anunitu]

Re: Whatcha thinking about now?

Reminds me of the ending of "Saving private Rayen" where he goes to the grave of the guy who saved him and asks,"Have I done good things and earned his saving me?"