Thursday, August 20, 2009

Meow! Meow!

The circus is in town somewhere. They have been driving around town announcing it for several days now. Pulling these cages with them and then parking so people can get a closer look.




Yup. Tigers. This was a baby.


There were three large adults in the other cage. They were quite listless.







This are not a zoomed pictures. I was actually that close.








I was impressed at how enormous these animals are close up like that. Their paws were as big as dinner plates. Well, almost. I wouldn't want to be slapped by one!




Look at how beautiful their fur and coloration is close up. I was fascinated.



I was appalled by the number of people sticking fingers and, in the case of small children, hands through the cage to touch them. I don't know if these animals were sedated or just bored and used to it, but they did not react in any way.
But they could have and I think the parents were just plain stupid to allow their kids to stick their hands in these cages. I'm glad I did not have to witness a child's hand being torn or bitten off.

10 comments:

KfromMichigan said...

Beautiful creatures!

Linda Dorton said...

Hola, As I was reading and looking at the photos, I was thinking....WOW I'd have to really force myself to not TOUCH...I've always dreamed of petting a big cat.

I wonder about their sedated or bored state. Makes one think they are drugged, doesn't it? Well I hope they enjoy a nice high or something at least!

For me the circus is a difficult issue, like zoos and dolphin harrassment programs. On one hand I am glad people get a chance to see and learn about these animals. Most of us will never roam Africa or India or the open sea. On the other hand I hate to see our human BS put upon these wonderful, intelligent, beautiful creatures.

Life's a Beach! said...

I'm wondering if they're just beat from the heat? What idiot would let a child or stick his own fingers into that cage? A few years ago in the Kansas county I grew up in, some idiot let a girl pose for her senior portraits with the lions on his farm. (Lions on a farm???) You can guess the outcome.

jeanie said...

They are beautiful!

lisa said...

They are beautiful creatures! The big cats have always been my favorite at zoos also. I actually went to Las Vegas and saw the white tigers!

Calypso said...

We had those same cats in Coatepec not too long ago - I guess they make the rounds. They are lovely but those small metal cages bother me. Oh well.

Anonymous said...

wonder how we got to the 20th when today is the 19th.

Anonymous said...

You know my attraction to big cats (and other wild animals).
I'd get right in the cage with him if they would let me!

-Doug

Steve Cotton said...

Jiggs is probably not going to chase these cats.

Anonymous said...

not long after i moved to mexico (the lake chapala area), i was driving on the carreterra behind a pickup pulling some kind of caged device. we had to stop because of traffic and i was just a few inches behind the pickup when suddenly a LION stood up and looked at me. i have lived in many, many places in the US and worked in national parks for years and seen many strange things, but i never before had a LION peering at me on the highway just the length of my hood away. it was great!

barb in jalisco