There is no barrier between humans and animals. It is safe under no circumstances. It is natural for animals to attack humans. This is a manifestation of the wild nature of animals. As long as humans appear, animals are given the opportunity to attack.
The Shanghai Wildlife Park announced on October 17 that the beast area (car access area) in the park will be temporarily closed. The specific reason is that a breeder was attacked and torn by a bear when he was working in the area that afternoon. Died.
Nowadays, many people choose to go to the safari park for parent-child trips, because here you can watch tigers, lions, leopards and other beasts chasing and frolicking up close, allowing children to get close to nature in the entertainment and education.
However, throughout the country and abroad, it is not uncommon for zoo animals to attack tourists and keepers.
So, under what circumstances are animals prone to aggressive behaviors against people?
As a breeder, what should I pay attention to when dealing with animals?
What happens to animals that attack people?
In this regard, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily interviewed industry experts.
Animals will attack people in these situations
Qi Xinzhang, deputy director of Xining Wildlife Park, told reporters from Science and Technology Daily that there are several situations in which zoo animals attack humans.
The first is play. It is not subjectively trying to attack humans, but just wants to interact with humans that they think is not offensive.
For example, lions, tigers, etc., were raised by breeders since they were young. By seven or eight months, their daily relationship with breeders still looks like cats and their owners.
Many beasts play in imitating hunting, using their claws to grab and bite with their mouths. Once their size is large enough, even a light bite can cause harm to humans.
Another example is the larger herbivores (horses, deer, etc.), when they see the breeders, they will behave like a happy gesture, but they may cause human fractures if they kick it.
Another situation is that animals only play with humans at first, but accidentally cause people to bleed accidentally. The smell of blood will arouse the wildness of beasts, which will lead to the behavior of eating humans.
The second is to treat humans as a threat.
For example, when zoo staff rescue animals to treat their wounds, the animals will feel pain, and they may attack.
For another example, some actions of the breeder entering the animal activity space will be misunderstood by the animal-the breeder is sweeping the floor, but the animal thinks he is going to hit them; the animal will think that humans are threatening the safety of their cubs during the lactation period. Will attack.
The third is to treat people as food. This is mainly the big beast.
People suddenly appear in the activity area of beasts, especially small adults or children. When they cannot stand because of fear, they will let the beasts release their nature and hunt.
There are strict regulations for the work of breeders
Zoos in our country also have stricter regulations on the employment of keepers.
Take the Xining Wildlife Park as an example. After entering the zoo, the zookeepers who meet the application requirements will arrange internship positions and learn from the old zookeepers, who will teach them practical knowledge.
If you want to become a qualified senior "poop shoveling officer", you must pass an exam after 3 months of internship, and then formally take up your post after becoming a regular employee.
Newcomers seldom serve as supervisors in the beast area. Considering that the beast area is more dangerous, the staff are all the most experienced and responsible breeding captains in the park.
According to Qi Xinzhang, Xining Wildlife Park requires the keepers to ensure that the beast is in the activity field when cleaning the beast’s house, and that the beast is in the house when working in the activity field.
Except for cubs and individual injuries, the breeder will never get along with the beast.
The so-called barriers are things that can separate people from animals, including walls, nets, railings, pools, etc.
At the same time, when the breeder feeds the wild beasts, the wild beasts are in the playground. The breeder puts the food in the inner house, and then goes out to lock the door. Open the gate between the inner house and the playground from the outside, and the beast will enter the inner house. During eating, the breeder had no direct contact with the beast.
“Most zoos explicitly require that keepers are not allowed to enter the wild animal area, but most zoos allow keepers to enter the herbivore area at will. This actually poses a safety hazard. Such as zebra, antelope, giraffe and other explosive animals. As long as you push or kick the human body, it is basically "either dead or disabled."" Qi Xinzhang said, "In fact, there is no barrier between humans and animals. It is safe under no circumstances. Animals attack humans. Very natural behavior. This is a manifestation of the wild nature of animals. As long as humans appear, they give animals the opportunity to attack."
No food or touch is a guarantee of safety
Although we are not a breeder and we do not have so many opportunities to interact with animals, as a visitor, we must pay attention to safety when visiting the zoo.
Qi Xinzhang said: "The best way to reduce the danger is to visit the parks in a civilized manner, do not communicate with animals without barriers, do not feed or touch them."
He believes that in the zoo, there are several aspects to pay attention to to ensure the safety of visitors.
The first is to prohibit feeding.
Many domestic zoos sell feed for profit, which makes it difficult to prohibit feeding behavior.
At the same time, there is no obstacle between the animal's mouth and the human hand when the tourist is feeding, which is likely to cause the tourist's hand to be bitten or cause more serious injury.
At the same time, Qi Xinzhang advises not to touch animals, even if the zoo has set up this interactive way of visiting, try not to touch them.
Because some animals carry pathogens, these pathogens will not make the animals sick, but if a person touches an animal, the pathogens carried by the animal may infect humans and cause certain diseases.
"It is worth noting that in zoos where there are guardrail animal visit areas, such as Bear Mountain and Monkey Mountain, parents must remember not to visit with their children. Because the center of gravity of people is generally below 1.4 meters, they will not fall off the railing, but those who hold children The center of gravity may be 1.5-1.6 meters. If you are not careful, you may be planted in the animal activity area." Qi Xinzhang said.
Different parks deal with wounding animals differently
So, how should animals that wounded people be dealt with? Will they be put to death?
According to Qi Xinzhang, in China, in order to prevent injury or regain human corpses, it is possible to kill and wound humans and animals, and generally will not be executed if there is no need.
However, some European and American countries have different regulations because of different legal systems.
Regarding the handling methods of beasts in zoos after they attacked humans, Qi Xinzhang said: “Domestic zoos do not have uniform regulations on how to deal with animals that have harmed humans. Different parks have different treatment methods. Re-exhibition and normal exhibition are possible."
"The cognition to treat wild animals correctly and treat them correctly needs to be slowly formed in the whole society. It is a long process from simply liking animals to rationally caring for animals." Qi Xinzhang said, the zoo industry has two functions. One is comprehensive protection, and the other is protection education.
The zoo should recognize its own position and function, and while doing a good job in wildlife protection, it should play a role in protection and education, and guide the public to treat and treat wildlife in a correct way. Only in this way can it not only protect the animals, but also protect the staff and tourists. Safety.