This year for Christmas I planned a surprise trip to Wildlife In Need, for The Reluctant Farmer and Miss K. As in avid member of PETA in my formative years, I had mixed feelings about this adventure, but The Reluctant Farmer is an avid cat fan and I knew that petting a tiger was high on her life time bucket list, so I booked the trip.
For weeks I have been reading the reviews online and there were mixed reviews about this place. (I would expect nothing less though when dealing with exotic animals, zoos, etc...) So, last night I prayed I had not made a mistake by paying for this adventure, and I am happy to report, we had fun! (You can't wipe the smile of The Reluctant Farmer's face!)
Now, it was a private zoo and the animals were not in their natural habitat, however I got to thinking, with the rate of extinction rising, captive conservation might be the only way I ever get to see a tiger this close or touch one in person. The animals were well fed, the cages were impeccably clean, and they taught us a lot about conservation. It was evident by the way the animals interacted with their caregivers, there was a mutual love between both human and animal. Honestly, there was not much difference between this guys love for his animals and my love for my animals.
When we left, I asked The Reluctant Farmer, who was beyond giddy with excitement: "Did you have a good time? Was petting a tiger everything you thought it would be?"
Her reply: "Thanks! It was amazing! Did you notice after the tiger ate, he farted on me?! Who knew tigers farted?!"
I just shook my head and laughed.
$100 to play with tigers/monkeys/puppies.
Across 3 states and 6 hours in the car to make this trip happen.
The smile on their faces because tigers farted on them and monkeys tried to steal their earrings? Priceless!
I would pretty much do anything for these two ladies. Even semi-change my stance on animals in captivity...
*** I will put the entire album of pictures on our Facebook page if you want to see more of the fun we had today. ***
No comments:
Post a Comment