| Bad_Rich_Chic |
10-06-2003 12:50 PM |
Not Amused
Quote:
Originally posted by Anne Elk
Years ago I recall hearing that once lions, tigers (and bears Oh My!) attack man, they develop a taste for us and begin hunting us over their other more usual four-legged fare.
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My understanding from an acquaintance who works with some dangerous (if not usually man-eating) animals is that, it's not that they develop a taste for us (we really taste pretty crappy), it's that once they've chewed on us they simply realize that we are chewable, and they are no longer afraid or uncertain around humans. It's why animals that have attacked or eaten people are usually put down immediately, no second chances: there is no safe place to keep them. They remain a huge risk to humans in any human-managed environment, much more so than untrained, wild animals. And even if they can be reintroduced into the wild they are still a big risk to humans, because they won't avoid humans in favor of easier pickings like most wild things. Not to mention that, with some more social/intelligent species, other animals may learn by example.
Being really seriously endangered may help this one, if it is thought valuable enough as breeding stock to be worth the risk, but in zoos, nature preserves, etc. all over the world they routinely put down even endangered animals that have attacked humans. |
