It is so more than sad... it is horrible when an animal is put down.
 
People...  children will do things...stick their hand through the bars to feed themt, when there are signs, BIG SIGNS posted everywhere.  Don't feed the animals.

The sad thing is that when an animal charges and attacks... and bites ...  the animal is most likely to do that again.  Protecting the human element is a must.

It is my understanding that they do not return the animal to it's environment because the animal has already lost it's skills to survive.  Therefore, they put the animal down.

I can't stand seeing them caged up....  some species have been lost, though.  It's sorta lose lose sometimes.

I rambled.. sorry.

Joey,

 You are WELCOME to ramble anytime!!  Thanks for reading my blog!  I appreciate your input into a complicated issue.

I agree that protecting humans is a must.  But, one thing I think of is that people drive automobiles every day.  Some wreck themselves (sometimes through carelessness--though not all the time) or someone else hits them.  But, we don't ban cars because it can hurt someone.

The animals you and I speak of are not responsible that people actually climb over well marked fences or get their body so close to the animal that they can be reached by the animal.  It irks me that the animal sometimes is put to death, as you say--through no fault of it's on.  We have enough endangered species as it is without killing off what is left because of people being careless.

Thanks for your comment and star! I think you understand the situation completely and I agree with you.

It really makes me cringe to see how humans can be so stupid and so cruel to other living beings. I really for the life of me cannot understand why an intelligent person cannot decide to make a road or incur into animal territory into what is "known" animal habitat...and yet we do it all the time. Is it any wonder that animals come into our backyards?

In my city we have a major problem of bears b/c people in the city are living right in bear territory against the high mountains...and also the racoons and coyotes love to roam the city..I've read there are about 200 coyotes living in metro Vancouver...a city of over a million people! Once animals are pushed out of where they live they have no choice but to be amongst humans....and human insistence on "anthropomorphizing" animals doesn't help either. Every summer tourists drive the Alaska highway through my province and try to "feed" the bears while they are picniking at camp sites. Of course bears are wild so some people die. It is a pity that they don't do more educating in schools about wild animals. Instead they show humans "entertaining" us with their wild animal shows. I do believe in having zoos so that people in the city can be educated...if the zoos have space large enough for the animals to be healthy (sadly this isn't often the case).

One particularily galling example of man's stupidity is building a newer main highway in the next province over (Alberta) smack dab through the migration route for the wolves. Hence so many of them are being killed annually as they try to cross the highway in their natural habitat area. This kind of thing really makes me sad.

I too have rambled...so many thoughts come to mind..when it comes to issues between wild animals and man/woman.

Joyful Servant,

Boy!  I could not agree with you more. Humans infringe more and more on the habitat that animals live in and then complain that the animals are there.  Where are the animals supposed to be or go????

Yes, there should be education about this in the schools.

I saw one video showing that someone wanted to HUG the panda!  And yes, offer your arm and hand to "feed" the animals!  Yep, they will do what comes natural to eat and defend their little space (territory) in the zoo or in the wild.

Your wolf illustration makes me sad, too.  

You just keep on rambling on my blogs (you said you were rambling).  I don't call it that.  Perhaps we can at least bring awareness that there is a HUMAN problem concerning God's creatures, ANIMALS and humans.

Thanks!!!!

Here is a link to the sad story of the wolves in Alberta.

http://www.macleans.ca/canada/national/article.jsp?content=20080910_6706_6706

Deb,

 Well said, I could not agree with you more!  Thank you for reading my blog and for your comment and star!  I appreciate it.

Joyful Servant,

I thank you so much for that link!  I certainly hate to see the wolves put in that position.  I know there are a lot of complicated issues, but the animals need the right to live, too.  Thanks so much for your thoughts.

Lara,

Thank you so much for reading this blog and for your comment.  

Yes, you are right. The problem with people going to a zoo, circus, wild-life preserve, or any other place that they KNOW wild animals are kept--and getting within reach of those animals--(or climbing inside the pen, as I've heard, too)--is like our walk with the Savior.  "Ignored warnings and instructions", exactly as you said.   You put it very well, Lara. Thanks!

I saw this in the news this morning. I'm sure this type of thing goes on around the world, in one form or another--but wanted to share this with you. Not exactly same order as this blog--wild animals and humans--but it is about humans and animals.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,550721,00.html?test=latestnews