Many of us remember going to zoo or the circus when we were young children. It was an opportunity that we had to see animals that we probably wouldn’t ever have seen before or perhaps again in our life. Yes, there have been some negative news stories circulating about animals in captivity but not all zoos and not all circuses treat their animals unkindly. That is why we tend to look back on those days with some degree of nostalgia.
In China, they have turned the entire concept of visiting a zoo on its head and we think it is amazing. Just like the zoos that we visited when we were younger, it gives people the opportunity to see wild animals but it does so in a much different way. Rather than putting the animals in the cages and having the humans parade by them, it puts the humans in the cages and moves them through an area where the animals are living in more of a wild habitat.
Big cats, bears and other wild animals roam free at the Lehe Ledu Wildlife Zoo. People were able to get up close and personal with the animals, perhaps even closer than they would in a conventional zoo.
Chan Llang is the spokeswoman for the zoo and she said: “We wanted to give our visitors the thrill of being stalked and attacked by the big cats but with, of course, none of the risks.”
The animals are attracted to the moving cages by chunks of meat that are attached to them. Inside of the vehicles, the people are protected from the animals. They can also offer food to the animals through small openings at the top of the cage.
Chan Llang says that a warning is given to all visitors “to keep their fingers and hands inside the cage at all times because a hungry tiger wouldn’t know the difference between them and breakfast.”
Some people are already criticizing the zoo for bringing the people so close to the animals. They think that it is dangerous, and they may be right to a certain extent. In their estimation, it is an ‘accident waiting to happen’.
Although it may be dangerous, it is also a very popular attraction. The zoo sold out of tickets for three straight months when it opened in 2015. It seems like people are happier seeing the animals in their natural habitat.
“It’s nothing like I’ve ever experienced in a zoo before,” said visitor Tao Jen. “We’re not looking at them, they’re looking at us – and we’re lunch.”
Source: Mind Unleashed