Tim Walker’s Protected

When a species of animal is said to be ‘protected’ it means they cannot be harmed in any way by hunters, poachers or indeed, man in general.

Rendering the above statement downright contradictory is the fact that over the past while there have been a number of instances where these supposedly protected creatures have been gunned down, not by hunters or poachers, by the very people who were in charge of overseeing their protection.

There was a case not so long ago of a man who came to danger on the inside of a lions’ enclosure; not in any immediate peril zoo staff attempted to tranquilise the animal. The tranquiliser missed its target, instead hitting the man. Whether the zoo staff then panicked or just ran out of ideas, a proud lion died that day.

There have been other, less memorable instances but one which occurred recently, in which a young boy managed to enter the habitat of one of the world’s most endangered creatures, a silverback gorilla, is a fine example of modern man’s idiocy.

A boy finds his way into a silverback gorilla enclosure presumably to have a closer inspection. The gorilla quickly befriends and starts playing with the boy. Of course onlookers are horrified and start calling for the gorilla to be slain. Suddenly a captive creature becomes the villain of this manmade fairytale. It is decided that because tranquilisers will be too delayed in their effect the only option is to kill the great primate. This majestic gorilla which was captured by humans then put on display by humans for humans, now dies at the hands of humans.

Regarding the above story, some maintain the belief that zoo enclosures should be utterly impenetrable to both animals and humans; I believe as long as they contain whatever beast lies beyond the fence they ought to be fine – any human who wants to push through does so at their own risk.

Others are claiming the mother of the boy should be held liable for any damages, including one irreplaceable, dead silverback gorilla – of course she’s liable – if not for her inattention a highly endangered, captive gorilla would still be alive today.

 

 

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by N Deign Jarring

Photography by P Pull

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