Sunday, January 15

The Little Girl And The Lion

the lion and the girl

I have taken the above picture of the little girl and a lion from a YouTube video Sofia the Lion Tamer at Wellington Zoo, New Zealand. It's only 45 seconds long.

The uploader of the video writes: "Sofia the Lion tamer, my very brave daughter at Wellington, Zoo New Zealand."

During the film the lion, who is behind plate glass, attacks the girl but she doesn't flinch and simply says, "What's he telling me?"

 As her father indicates, she's certainly brave and I was temporarily impressed. But I then came to my senses and was soon feeling sorry for the magnificent lion. He really shouldn't be on display like this, so that he can be annoyed and aggravated. Some zoos do a good job for conservation but a lion should surely be respected and roaming free. I hope this is explained to Sofia - and children everywhere.

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5 comments:

  1. We try and teach children not to tease household pets yet at the same time encourage them to be "up and close" to wild animals, albeit behind bars or glass. The sheer frustration this lion must be feeling, suppressing it's natural instincts is tantamount to cruelty, and can only be compared to being "poked with sticks"

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  2. So wrong to have lions on display like this so they can be teased by children (what are the parents thinking?)or anyone else. Good point Mike.

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  3. The best lion display I've ever seen is lion country safari...the lions roam free. But, they're still captive. Yes, some zoos do a good job of conservation. But I dislike seeing animals contained.

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  4. Thanks Chris, Suzie and Trish for the comments.

    Trish: We also have a few safari style parks in the UK where the likes of lions and other animals run free. Visitors drive their cars slowly round a designated track. Much better than zoos.

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  5. Oh, pressed the wrong button for my comment above!

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