Bears and Tigers

Merry Ann Frisby
Guest Columnist

I grew up in McLean Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C. My mother frequently took us to visit the Washington National Zoo as we did on one steamy hot August day. A big attraction was the new polar bear exhibit, because the zoo had recently acquired a female to pal around with the resident male.
The bears were unaccustomed to the beastly hot and humid summers. To help them cool off, the zoo installed a chilling pool. There was one problem; the pool was just a little too small to accommodate both bears.
As we watched the bears jostle for a spot in the pool, the jostling escalated to growling. Then snapping. Then bared teeth. Then a full-fledged bear match.
The bears grabbed each other’s ruff and they bit at each others throats all accompanied by fierce noises. As the spittle flew, the spittle began to be colored pink and blood soon flowed freely. We all looked on in horror.
Fairly quickly, zoo keepers emerged from the bear cave in protective clothing and armed with fire hoses. Other zoo keepers had long stout sticks with knobs on the end. They hosed and bonked the bears, but the battle did not abate.
Finally, the female nestled up against a rock wall and stood her full height. She raised her front paws and screamed a ferocious snarl. The male rushed her, shoved his front paws against her chest and killed her.
I remembered this horror as I read about the fool who jumped fences and entered a tiger enclave in a South Florida zoo. I'll bet his hope was to feed the tiger and take a selfie which might make him famous for fifteen seconds.
The tiger grabbed his arm. I imagine that the zoo keepers tried to disengage the tiger with fire hoses and sticks with knobs. Sadly, the police had to kill the rare tiger to free the idiot.
No mention was made about his medical condition. Also no mention was made about his legal position. I hope he is arrested and has to face the consequence of this poor stunt. I wonder what restitution will be for a rare tiger and those who loved him.