WILDLIFE

The wild is not a place for the weak, when I watch tv stations animals NGO Wild, In as much as I enjoy watching the whole animal action, I also feel for the preys sometimes. It’s funny how an animal becomes food while trying to search for food for themselves. I always say that Zoo animals will not last one month in the wild because it’s not a place for the weak. A lot of animals in the zoo receive proper care and some even play with humans, I mean wild animals like the Lions and leopards in the zoo play with humans because of the kind of care they receive from them. I feel Wild animals majorly attack humans because that’s the life of the wild, Kill or be killed. Any being different from them is seen as a threat that must be eliminated. If there is a worse place to thrive it is the wild. Animals like elephants are gradually going into extinction because they live in the wild where there is no proper medical care and are very exposed to the apex predators (Man hunters) who see them as mere meat and their trunks as a source of income.

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

Not as though I don’t see animals as meat, but I don’t think all should be killed. There are places in my country where killing a Lion is seen as strength. You will see hunters going into the wild in search of a lion to kill in order to prove that they are strong. I think these kinds of traditions were the reason the idea of a zoo came in the first place. In the western part of Nigeria, there is a market called Bush meat market. It’s a place where you find all kinds of wildlife meat because hunters are always going there to kill animals. There is no law against killing wildlife animals in Nigeria and thus you see hunters do it effortlessly without remorse. They say their customers also prefer wildlife meat also known as bushmeat to the normal beef and chicken or goat. There were animals I saw there that I thought did not deserve to be there. Imagine a cub is paraded as meat for people to buy and eat. These are the things that make me go against the idea of the wild.

I will prefer bringing the wild to the zoo. I mean allowing a large piece of land where animals can fully explore but is under the guidance and watch of professional zoologists and other animal specialists so the animals can be trained not to be a danger to themselves and to others. But then again, you can never remove the predator's mind from some animals. Lions and wolves are a good example of such, once they test blood it’s over. But you can control what they eat and make sure other animals are safe from them. The zoo is a safe haven for animals, at least that’s what I think it to be. And seeing these wild animals up close is an experience I always look forward to, but I don’t support the idea of using them to perform tricks and other things done in an entertainment casino. Just let them live and allow nature to survive through them.

THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 173 EPISODE 2