If you DON'T know him, you should get to......QUICK!.....before he becomes the proverbial turd!

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

Damn, that lioness in the last photo is a big 'un.

Holy smoke!

Can't remember his name, but he's a very good artist.

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
Can't remember his name, but he's a very good artist.

Might not be for long....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kjWBgA81LM

Is it the gentleman in this video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUeDIdCyQJE&NR=1

Another video of him with hyena,lions and leopard.

While I don't agree totally with the method and I am sure he is very anti hunting, the propagation of these very outstanding animals is a great plus in my estimation. Since we don't know the whole story, maybe these cats were injured, sick, or simply driven out of their natural habitat, I won't make any assumtions one way or the other.

And I don't really wish any harm to this person, no matter how foolish it seems through these pics. Bonding between man and animal has been going on for eons. The dangers and consequences involved with this are something that one has to consider before undertaking this type of project. I wouldn't give it a go, but to each his own.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

I think in the first picture above, you can see a high fence in the background. The lions probably never have killed anything.

That makes the guy safe, right?

Just ask that fellow who got chomped upon by a tiger on the stage in Las Vegas. There is always a first.

Or the fellow from antelope park just outside Gweru who was petting his favorite lion and left armless...Or the Canadian/Alaskan bear chap, or any one of countless others. It's just not a good idea, that's all. But I hear you Larry, each to their own. I have a good mate who catches any snake with his hands, including mambas...That's even sillier than this lion fellow, IMO. Anne Whittall has raised a couple of lions and a leopard, but there comes a time with all of these animals when the apron strings need to be severed. Sooner or later, once they are mature, disaster strikes....

David

I believe this fellow admits his animals are not "wild" Lions, etc. They are captive animals. How safe that makes what he is doing with them depends on the animals, not on him. While I don't condone this type of human interaction with wild species, this chap is not about to stop because of my opinions. All it takes is one pissed Lion and his day will be ruined. On the other hand, these cats are not being held in cages, like circus cats, and appear to be well adjusted pets who enjoy interacting with him.

Even lions have bad days, failing to give an animal the respect it deserves usually ends badly. As usual, in cases like these, I blame Disney.

John

Ever spend the day with your wife having a good bout of PMS? This looks about as safe a pastime to me. If that is me in the pictures, they are all tits up and I am posing with my 470 NE or the 550 Gibbs.

Rich

I have to agree with Larry. I wouldn't do what this guy does but it looks like fun.

Mark

I think I will just call him kebble and bits.

No matter whether these animals are wild or captive breed eventually something very bad is going to happen.

Regardless of what is claimed, ALL these animals are pets!

They are NOT wild.

Of course, I presume most of us here already know that. But Joe public doesn't!

quote:

Originally posted by PSmith:
Damn, that lioness in the last photo is a big 'un.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. She's huge!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Regardless of what is claimed, ALL these animals are pets!

They are NOT wild.

Of course, I presume most of us here already know that. But Joe public doesn't!

I don't know if that's the case. A friend of mine has seventeen lions, (at last count), four of whom were hand raised in his house, and he won't go in with them.

He has an intimate relationship with a female jaguar, but that's not a lion.


Whatever the case, these lions are impressive, and so is the guy with them.

Future cat poo is how I forwarded this email to friends.
I have had many "pet" cats and one time or another the have been upset and swiped me causing a flow of claret.
I think one swipe from these so called pets will cause a trifle more...
The photos do show what chance you have if an upset wild Lion happen upon you.

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
He has an intimate relationship with a female jaguar...

quote:

Originally posted by ForrestB:

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
He has an intimate relationship with a female jaguar...

When Loki was about ready to give birth, she started calling Ed. He entered the cage with her, (she lives in his back yard), and he held her while she gave birth to two kits. She trusts him implicitly, but I still have my reservations about cats. Nobody else can go in with Loki.

Let's see him try that with a croc!

This is guy is actually very good, if not the best I have seen when working with large cats. He certainly reads and understands how to interact with them from what I have seen of him. In the show from what I have watched of him with lions and hyenas, I did notice that he seemed to be packing a revolver on his right hip when saving cubs from the large mother lioness who did not know how to look after them. He was wise enough not to actually go in and pick the cubs right up when the mother was in a bit of a mood, but found it quite touching that she regained his trust afterwards, even though he lost her trust by taking the cubs away in front of her for a while.

You have to acknowlege your own mortality when working with these big cats it's an extremely dangerous pastime and very few sane people would pursue it, and although they may be hand-reared does not mean they are any less dangerous than a wild lion, in many cases much more dangerous. I was really impressed how he got along so well with the hyena clan and actually bullied some of the lowest ranking males by punching them and biting their ears to make sure they knew they were put in their place! If you are working with these animals, you are treading on egg-shells it certainly helps if you can read and trust your pets, but they are still prone to unpredictable behaviour which can mean either a bad scratch or much worse.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Regardless of what is claimed, ALL these animals are pets!

They are NOT wild.

Of course, I presume most of us here already know that. But Joe public doesn't!

Saeed, you of all people know that there is no such thing as a pet lion, only one that is acclimated to peoples presence. It is a matter of time. Even house cats have a bit too much of the wild in them at times, luckily they are too small to crush your throat with their jaws.

John

I agree with Nzou - 'tame' wild animals reach a point where they are far more dangerous than those in the bush. It is their contact and familiarity with humans that makes them so dangerous. One swat from a big lion is all it takes...Or one good headbutt from a big rhino - yikes!

Against my wishes, I once visited a wild animal park which had lions, cheetahs etc in pens. Terrible experience, but one has to see to know eh? Anyhow, a friend of mine allowed his kids to join other kids and moms playing with the lion cubs, which were actually no longer cubs. He could not understand my concern, until I explained in graphic detail what one of the 'cubs' could do to his 5 year old with one blow. People just have no clue.

I'm sure the chap pictured above knows what he's doing and I'm sure he loves his lions and that they love him etc, but that changes nothing. Even those who love you are capable of turning on you. All it takes is for one of those cats to have a headache one day....We have seen enough of these wildlife gurus going down over the years eh? Another big problem I have with all these guys is that their TV shows etc are viewed by kids. All the warnings at the end of the show are totally overshadowed by the show itself, and kids want to be like their heroes, do they not? They are irresponsible - both the TV stations and the hosts. I always tell any kids who are watching such a show how stupid the snake catcher/lion cuddler is. Thankfully, most kids are in full agreement. Blah, blah.

Dave

Lion kills keeper in China
January 05 2010 at 09:05AM



Beijing - A worker at a wildlife park in central China was attacked and killed by an African lion while he was cleaning out her cage, state media reported on Tuesday.

The 56-year-old worker, identified only by his surname Ming, was attacked by the lion at the Nanhai Wildlife Park in the city of Madian in Henan province on Thursday, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Ming had only been at his job for four days when the attack occurred, it said.

Yang Yang, the nine-year-old African lion, has been placed under quarantine as an investigation into the incident is conducted, the report said.

In November, police in northeast China shot dead two Siberian tigers after the animals severely mauled a worker at a wildlife park in Liaoning province, a report said at the time.

Due to a lack of funds and customers at the park, the tigers were in a state of starvation at the time of the attack, it said. - Sapa-AFP

I think that the worst part of what this guy is doing (and there are some good things, too) is adding to the perception that animals have human emotions and thoughts. It, of course, is called anthropomorphism.

Last night I had supper with a lady who was eating a beef taco and asking me "How can you kill helpless animals?"

Seeing someone playing with a lion only encourages such Disneyesque dichotomy.

I love lions and would like to "play" with one sometimes. I did the "lion walk" in Zimbabwe and rode an elephant, too. (Which, incidently killed a guy later that month, I believe).

Somehow, I believe, I was wrong to do so. It was fun for me, but it sends a wrong message to folks who don't know anything but concrete and asphalt.

When society loses respect for what a lion really is, it lessens the animal and us, both.

JMHO.

Nicely put Judge

Dave

I agree with JudgeG.

quote:

Originally posted by JudgeG:
I think that the worst part of what this guy is doing (and there are some good things, too) is adding to the perception that animals have human emotions and thoughts. It, of course, is called anthropomorphism.

Last night I had supper with a lady who was eating a beef taco and asking me "How can you kill helpless animals?"

Seeing someone playing with a lion only encourages such Disneyesque dichotomy.

I love lions and would like to "play" with one sometimes. I did the "lion walk" in Zimbabwe and rode an elephant, too. (Which, incidently killed a guy later that month, I believe).

Somehow, I believe, I was wrong to do so. It was fun for me, but it sends a wrong message to folks who don't know anything but concrete and asphalt.

When society loses respect for what a lion really is, it lessens the animal and us, both.

JMHO.

Well said sir.

Yeah, agreed. My buddy Ed doesn't fully trust his jaguar. She is very gentle with him and exposing her belly to him shows great trust, but I worry that one day Loki may have a bad moment and maul him. He usually has one of the security guards close by with a shotgun and OO buck. I just hope he never needs the guy.

That big female is the size of a Liger!!