BY KEVIN SAWYER – For those who love the simple thrill and beauty of observing wild animals but hate to see them in cages, there is a new zoo for you. At this zoo, it is the humans that are locked up in the cages while the wild animals roam about and stare and gawk at the puny humans. And, oh yes, they consider you to be dinner.
There are those, however, who still believe that caging up animals simply for human amusement and entertainment is wrong and misguided. The Lehu Ledu Widlife Zoo in China has introduced the concept of free roaming animals to the country. By placing the humans in the cages and inside buses, the owners believe that visitors to the zoo will have the full experience of seeing these creatures in the wild and in their own natural habitats.
Spokeswoman for the zoo, Chan Llang said that, ” We wanted to give our visitors the thrill of being stalked and attacked by the big cats but with, of course, none of the risks.”
The vehicles come equipped with tiny windows at the top of the cages through which people can throw food to the animals. In addition, zoo keepers tie huge chunks of raw meat to the side of the vehicle to encourage the animals, especially the great cats, to lunge and seemingly attack the people in the cages. Officials have to always be warning the visitors to keep themselves inside the cages and to not reach out and try to touch the animals. They say that the animals, especially the large cats, won’t discriminate when it comes to a fresh kill.
There have been, of course, certain corners where people are expressing their outrage feeling that it is too dangerous for people to be in the zoo like that. These people, and they are everywhere, can seemingly never explain to themselves, or to others, why they have this uncontrollable need to be everyone’s mother.
The zoo has been getting great reviews for the most part and has proven to be a popular attraction. When the zoo opened last year, it immediately sold out all of its tickets and visitors have to book a few months in advance to have an opportunity to see the magnificent creatures in the wild.
PHOTO CREDITS: CEN / Twitter