No, I'm not joking.
Was ill today and so was watching some TV after I had exhausted my ability to read. Anyway, there is a long running daily documentary set in Longleat Safari Park a profit making enterprise set up by the Marquis of Bath, interesting man who has 'wifelets', I digress. Anyway, they got the two presenters up in the lion enclosure, one was with the keepers whilst the other helped the small animal keeper on whose request the whole thing occurred (I will return to this later)
So the scenario is, four or five people, two armed and three cars with the doors open. Approximately ten lions within thirty to forty metres. The drill was, if the lions charge then one keeper fires a shot in the air and all return to the cars (why the doors are open) with the two armed keepers last to return to the cars. The cameraman was focussing on one female who was at the edge of the group of lions, lying totally flat, ears back, staring intently at them (as were the other nine or so) The two keepers were armed with what I assume were double rifles (though they could have been shotguns)
Now I appreciate that these are park lions but they are not hand reared and no-one ever goes on foot in there (apart from this procedure), to all intents and purposes they are as wild as lions can be in a very large enclosure in the UK. After having seen the famous lion hunting video (as featured around here a while back) I wouldn't want to be in that situation at all with ten lions. What would you take? (forget UK law and it's contrived restrictions)
By the way, the reason they were there was to pick some plantain that only grows in the lion enclosure. Apparently the tortoises love it. Big risks for tortoise treats.
Was ill today and so was watching some TV after I had exhausted my ability to read. Anyway, there is a long running daily documentary set in Longleat Safari Park a profit making enterprise set up by the Marquis of Bath, interesting man who has 'wifelets', I digress. Anyway, they got the two presenters up in the lion enclosure, one was with the keepers whilst the other helped the small animal keeper on whose request the whole thing occurred (I will return to this later)
So the scenario is, four or five people, two armed and three cars with the doors open. Approximately ten lions within thirty to forty metres. The drill was, if the lions charge then one keeper fires a shot in the air and all return to the cars (why the doors are open) with the two armed keepers last to return to the cars. The cameraman was focussing on one female who was at the edge of the group of lions, lying totally flat, ears back, staring intently at them (as were the other nine or so) The two keepers were armed with what I assume were double rifles (though they could have been shotguns)
Now I appreciate that these are park lions but they are not hand reared and no-one ever goes on foot in there (apart from this procedure), to all intents and purposes they are as wild as lions can be in a very large enclosure in the UK. After having seen the famous lion hunting video (as featured around here a while back) I wouldn't want to be in that situation at all with ten lions. What would you take? (forget UK law and it's contrived restrictions)
By the way, the reason they were there was to pick some plantain that only grows in the lion enclosure. Apparently the tortoises love it. Big risks for tortoise treats.
