Mar
Out of Place
Last month, a prominent story in the news was the “tame” chimpanzee which seriously injured a woman. The chimp may have been a pet for years, but it still had its wild instincts and inclinations. Despite warnings from experts, the owner kept the chimp as a pet. The animal did what chimps do when scared or enraged.
This is nothing new. There are stories of people who have been mauled by exotic pets. They tried to make house pets out of wild animals. Even deer can be dangerous if tame. Having lost their fear of humans, they are less shy of using their antlers when provoked. Imagine how much worse it is if the animal is a dangerous type, such as a bear, puma or tiger.
It is odd how some folks want to try to make housemates out of dangerous predators.
The point is that some things can be taken out of their milieu and given a veneer of “tameness.” However, they never lose their wild instincts. It does not take much to evoke their true nature. The “tame” tiger is still a tiger ,and the “domesticated” bear is still a bear. The few who keep exotic and dangerous pets are people who suppress their own instinct to be wary of animals with a penchant for violence.
When something is out of place, take it as a warning of potential danger. If something is where it does not belong, calamity is a possibility. It may not happen today or next week or next month, but there is a likelihood that it will happen someday. This is not limited to dangerous animals. Anything out of its ordinary milieu is cause for caution.
