http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-133/127825726925800.xml&storylist=cleveland
Courtesy of Mark Rosenthal
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"This whole thing is starting to look dicey. The manager enters the enclosure, "alone, against zoo protocol" with carrots? Was entering the enclosure against protocol, or was entering the enclosure alone? What is alone? Does another person have to be at your side, or in the vicinity to not be "alone?" With due respect to Alan Roocroft, and without seeing the video, what he describes sounds like a pseudo headstand. An elephant, chained up or contained will very often follow up the whacking of someone with a crouching headstand. Timid immature males will do the same thing if they are loose and not restrained, after whacking someone or something. They want to "follow up" the hit with a headstand, but lacking the courage will often "air headstand", for lack of a better word, a short distance away. Some are going to suggest the crouch was Louies efforts to play with RedFox, like he would play with a toy or rubber tire. Some are going to even suggest the crouch was Louies efforts to help RedFox back on his feet. Some are going to suggest the crouch was Louies knowledge that he had done wrong, and was waiting for a reprimand. I don't think we have to keep searching the cosmos for an answer, when things like this happen. It is pretty simple, Louie lacking a spoken vocabulary, responded the way an elephant responds, Whether it be a human or another elephant. It comes with the territory, it's the nature of the beast, it is what it is."
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Expert reviews video of Ohio elephant attack
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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6 comments:
Thanks for the breakdown and insight Wade. What you said makes a lot of sense. And you beat the excuses and follies to the punch.
I believe the entering "with carrots" is what is against protocol. Had he entered with broccoli it would have been fine.
Radar,
There you go. I didn't beat all the excuses and follies. One slipped in the back door!!!!!\
Wade
all real trainers no u do not enter a cage alone u always have someone there i think even u would kno that wade you are the best?
Anonymous,
Thank you, but we are talking different animals here. With felines, you need someone to open the door and shift them into the cage. If only working with one animal or two, it the get along and don't fight, for a specific trick, I often put them in the cage and practiced alone. With elephants, very often you were alone with them. Again, normally someone was there if you needed tubs or props moved. I am not suggesting it is the best thing to do, but in the circus industry, trainer/handler safety was often not much of an issue.
Wade
Wade,
Perhaps that is why the circus has a worse track record of deaths caused by animals. Though it seems many zoos have a bad habit of leaving cat doors open and finding keepers confronting predators they had no intention of ever meeting face to face.
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