Today I am copying a comment I left about an article regarding a Florida bobcat "moving into a subdivision" in Melbourne, Florida.* I read this article a couple of days after reading an article about a woman who rehabilitates wild animals, but also breeds them or breeds hybrids of them to be sold as pets, which seems a little nonsensical. Aside from the fact that so many people cannot seem to accept that we cannot take the wild completely out of a wild animal by simply crossing it with a domestic animal, breeding and selling them only creates more animals that then have to be taken in and rehabilitated later.
The article about this was quite flowery and heartwarming, focusing on the noble work of caring for innocent animals. The article about a bobcat roaming in a neighborhood, however, had quite a different tone. It spoke of its "razor-sharp claws and needle-like teeth,*" and how it seemed to cunningly elude the traps laid out for it. Where are the warm, fuzzy feelings now? Additionally, where was the mention of sharp claws and teeth in the article about the breeding and selling of African Servals, who by the way, can leap up to 14 feet in the air and pounce on prey as large as a wood stork and as small as a shrew by just listening?
The truth is, we are picking and choosing amongst the characteristics of these animals to suit our purposes at the moment, and we fail to see the whole being. More importantly, we fail to see the whole, living system of which those beings are a part. Here is the comment I wrote.
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I find it interesting and revealing that when a wild cat is reported roaming free there is a focus on its weight, size, and "razor-sharp claws and needle-like teeth," as if it were some sort of big-foot type monster that is out to get us.
Yet when the media reports about wild cats being bred in captivity and traded, the focus is on the animal's magnificence or cuteness. When some people point out that keeping them as pets is a bad idea precisely because of the "razor-sharp claws and needle-like teeth," those people are then sometimes accused of being overzealous animal rights activists.
It's time to stop picking and choosing the characteristics of these animals that suit our fancy at the moment and look at the big picture. They are neither a nuisance nor a novelty. They are living creatures that belong in this world and we are accountable to them and to the natural systems that they call home.
And let's get one thing straight - we moved into the bobcat's territory, he did not move into ours.
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Sharyn Beach
*Bobcat prowls Florida subdivision, UPI.com, July 7, 2009. www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/07/07/Bobcat-prowls-Florida-subdivision/UPI-34101247018689/
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I came across your blog on this when googling about the capture of the bobcat (after I saw picture on WFTV.com). I had followed the story at the beginning (and agree with your assessment); however, I didn't realize they caught the bobcat. I almost had to laugh at the size since one of the neighbors had described it like a huge, heavy dog. I felt sorry for the bobcat -- as you said, WE moved into HIWS neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, I wondered if you knew what they did with the bobcat. It was obviously terrified - I hope they at least tranquilized it quickly. If you know, and have the time, could you please let me know?
Thank you very much.
Alice Walker
aw50_@hotmail.com