April 15, 2016

Hati, a Malayan tiger of the age of twelve is tranquilized at the Palm Beach Zoo in Florida by the institutions trained response team. A member of an endangered species, Hati is one of approximately 240 to 340 Malayan tigers in the world. Hati was accused of killing zookeeper Stacey Konwiser, who had worked with him and three other Malayan tigers during her three years at the zoo via a neck injury. Hati was spotted defending Konwiser “like prey”.

May 28, 2016

Harambe the gorilla was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo by a team of zookeepers. The gorilla, a rare, seventeen-year-old silverback, was a favorite of zoo-goers. Seen guarding a small boy who had managed to get into the gorilla exhibit while out of his mother’s view, Harambe was shot for fear that he would attack the boy. The boy suffered no injuries.

June 14, 2016

At a posh, Disney World resort, a boy is dragged into a lagoon by an alligator while not under parental supervision for a few moments. A few days later, the boy is found dead and the search for the alligator culprit begins. Once found, it is trapped and euthanized. Disney World puts up warning signs around its beaches as a precautionary measure, although resort stayers are given a cautionary warning about the presence of the alligators upon their arrival.

June 17, 2016

Near the town of Aspen in Colorado, a woman runs outside to the sight of her screaming, five-year-old son underneath of a mountain lion. The boy and his brother were playing outside without parental supervision. Reports say that the boy’s head was in the lion’s mouth, and the mother was able to heroically pry the jaws of the cat open. The boy and his family got away with scratches and bumps. Meanwhile, two mountain lions in the area were killed by wildlife officials within a few hours of the attack.

June 18, 2016

A woman running a New Mexico marathon was confronted by a female black bear. Officers say that the runner got between the bear and her cub, sparking anger in the mother bear. The National Park Service is now warning people to stay away from the area. The bear is being searched for with the intent to euthanize and test for diseases like rabies. The runner suffered no life-threatening injuries.

June 20, 2016

Juma, an Amazon jaguar, is present at the Olympic torch ceremony in Brazil as a real-life mascot for Brazil’s Olympic team. After taken back to its cage, the jaguar got away from its handlers. It was tranquilized before it began to approach military personnel, at which point Juma was shot and killed by a soldier.

Within the span of approximately three months’ time, widespread news coverage of six animal “attacks” have been circulating through our news feeds and through our minds. Protests have been had, petitions have been signed, and much controversy has been created. Do we blame the parents or the animals? Should the animals be killed, tranquilized, or neither? What do we as the human population believe to be morally acceptable? Is it fair for an animal that shows no signs of murdering a child to be killed themselves? Should we crack down on “bad” parents who leave their children unsupervised?

All of these questions are things we’ve been arguing about on a day-to-day basis for the past three months. Is there any right answer? Can we come to an agreement, or are we never going to stop criticizing each other? Truth be told, we may never come to a mutual understanding on the correct course of action when these things happen. In fact, it’s very likely that we will not. With this in mind, I would like to give my perspective on the events as of late.

I have loved animals all my life. For the twenty-one years I have resided on this earth, I’ve never had a bad experience with an animal. (This is coming from someone who had their arm grabbed and bitten by their aunt’s Rottweiler when I was eleven. Three puncture wounds, many stitches, and ten years later, I still don’t blame the dog.) I grew up in a family that taught me to appreciate nature and each living thing. In fact, “Each Living Thing” by Joanne Ryder was a favorite book of mine as a child. It beautifully illustrates the relationship we as humans have with the earth around us. It taught me to respect the trees, the bees, and the other inhabitants of the earth. It inspired me to try hard as I might to give back to the environment what it has given to me and more. Since then, I’ve continued to treat nature with kindness. I sympathize with other living creatures while others tear their populations to shreds. I cry at the sight of elephants mourning a loved one, at a new report detailing the extinction of yet another species, and at those ASPCA commercials of dogs, cats, and other pets abandoned.

At this time, as we’re “seeing a rise” in the number of animal and human incidents, I would like to remind everyone now more than ever that HUMANS DO NOT OWN THIS PLANET. We never have. We are one species out of billions on Earth, yet we act like the resources and gifts we’ve been given by Mother Nature are our birthright. We believe we deserve it, and for what? For destroying the environment? For killing off thousands of fellow Earth-dwellers? No. Absolutely not.

We forget that we are supposed to live in harmony with the world around us. Let me remind you that the only member of the earth who has ever invaded someone else’s territory is humans. Are we surprised that animals are trying to defend their right to exist? And as far as the “attacks” go? We’ve been attacking them for years. Many, many years. We’ve been killing them all off, one by one, whether it be by hunting, by destroying their environment, by shoving them into zoo exhibits or by domesticating them. I for one completely understand the rage and frustration the other species of the world feel. I too am fed up with humanity. Our egotistical, blood-thirsty desire to stake a claim on everything of this world drives me crazy. It drives animals crazy.

When is the last time we’ve given back land that we stole from other creatures? When did we last fight for keeping endangered species safe? If we only could understand just how negatively we have affected the lives of the species around us, we might better protect and serve them. Man was not created to rule over Earth, but to protect it, to watch over it, and to love it. We are made to live alongside our cousins, brothers, sisters, and extended family of this planet.

Hati of Palm Beach was just having a bad day. Harambe did nothing wrong. The alligator of Disney World is not to blame. The Aspen mountain lion was young. The bear of New Mexico was trying to protect her cub. Juma was not attempting to kill, but rather to escape confinement.

I don’t have all the answers to the questions we have about the motives of the animals. I can’t say for sure whether or not their intentions were good or bad. But I can speak for the motives of people. I can say for sure whether or not our intentions are good or bad. (And they’re nearly always bad.)

We have been invading and attacking and killing and beating and capturing and starving and abandoning and destroying their populations for years, never realizing that maybe the real “animal attackers” are actually ourselves.

Sources: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-go.. http://nypost.com/2016/06/22/authorities-kill-gato... http://www.inquisitr.com/3223208/bear-attacks-woma... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/colorado-mother... http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/16/us/alligator-attacks..., http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-ti... https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/20...