How would you like it?

31.
Q. I love to read articles about animals doing bizarre things. I read about an elephant in an American zoo, who had attacked and killed her handler. The staff reported that she had always been a cranky elephant. I was curious to know why the elephant did what she did, especially after working with the same person for a number of years.

A. When I connected with her she told me that the handler was going to do a medical procedure on her. Her perception was that they were going to sterilize her so she defended herself and ended up killing the woman.

I then asked her why she’s cranky all of the time? She told me that there is no rest, they are always watching!’

I have twice undertaken to install a full live web cam system at my kennel that would allow clients to log onto the site and view all of the cat’s at any time. This zoo, and many other zoos, are equipped with live web cams to view the animals at will. After speaking with this elephant, I decided to ditch the project once and for all. It’s just not right. All animals and many people can sense if they are being watched. The fact that the viewing is done remotely, via cameras, doesn’t change that reality.