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I am sure by now most of you have heard of the woman who got mauled by a 200 pound chimpanzee. If not: This Chimpanzee was a pet owned by the victim’s friend. This is a perfect example of why it is a bad idea to keep wild animals as pets. Wild animals are just that….wild. Even the most seasoned wild animal owner cannot truthfully guarantee that their wild pet will not display the unpredictable, intrinsic, instincts that can manifest in a wild animal (just ask Roy Horn). I cannot tell you how many people, who are pro-exotic pet ownership, that I have heard say that it comes down to how the animal is raised, or the fact that they are second, third, or even tenth or elevent generation wild (i.e. they were bred in captivity and therefore the “wild” has been bred out of them). I do not care about how the animal is raised, or that they were bred in captivity - the bottom line is that they are wild animals. I will leave you this food for thought; if the wild instincts of an animal are easily tamed through the way they are raised, or simply because they are a second or third generation wild animal, then why do we use the natural instincts of a dog, a species that has been domesticated for millions of years, as the number one training tool?
If I didn't know better I would swear you were hired
Jessica - this is an *excellent* article that you wrote, and you wisely point out that “Even the most seasoned wild animal owner cannot truthfully guarantee that their wild pet will not display the unpredictable, intrinsic, instincts that can manifest in a wild animal.”
But in this case this was clearly not a seasoned, expert wild animal person - according to the news article, and I quote, “She fed him the finest food, including lobster, steak and ice cream. They took baths together, cuddled in the bed they shared and enjoyed wine from long-stemmed glasses. Travis brushed Herold’s hair each night and pined for her when she was away.”
WTF?!?!
This reminds me of the Hera and Bane situation in SF, where the Presa Canarios killed the neighbor.
Sick people beget sick animals.
Sigh.
Ho.
It strikes me that, at least sometimes, the desire to live in companionship with wild animals is born of an impulse to be special, to be so in tune with self and the deeply-foreign other that the differences can be transcended by will or love.