This is not the subject of my first blog that I expected to write. Normally I write about mental health issues that impact on consumers and practitioners. However the recent Christmas Day tragedy at the San Francisco Zoo got me thinking. . It may be a stretch but I do think there is a connection to mental health.
On Christmas Day there was a tragic loss of life, a young 17 year old man and a rare magnificent majestic animal, A Siberian Tiger . Both are tragic and senseless losses.
Was the wall high enough to keep the tiger contained? Obviously not. Did the human victims taunt the tiger? We don’t know yet but one would have to be incredibly foolhardy to taunt a tiger. Some people are now arguing that dangerous animas should not be shown in open exhibits like the one in San Francisco. If that is the conclusion people come to it will be the biggest tragedy of all for the animals and for us.
I know a little bit about tigers. I’m not an expert mind you but I have come in contact with tigers up close and personal. It was one of the most invigorating experiences of my life.
In May of 2005 while traveling around Southeast Asia I visited the Buddhist Tiger Temple See http://www.walkingwithtigers.org/pressview.php?topic=BuddhistTigerTemple
No walls, motes or staff with tranquilizer guns etc. Just you and tigers. Bengal tigers so they are not quite as big as the Siberian species but big enough.
What if friends and family asked, if one of those tigers did what tigers do? Even the playful cubs could hurt in rambunctious play. The full-grown adult tigers could kill a man with no trouble and so fast hardly anyone would be able to stop them.
That is certainly true. Just putting a hand on the tiger’s back I felt muscles that were tighter and firmer than any thing I had imagined and the cat was laying at rest. But at any moment any one of them could have done what cats do. There would have been little I or anyone around could have done.
However despite the fact that it was dangerous and perhaps foolhardy to walk and lay among full grown Bengal Tigers It was also among the most exhilarating experiences of my life. I rarely felt more alive as I did that day outside of Bangkok.
No doubt some of my mental health colleagues would interpret as some kind of death wish or get Freudian or some such. Well all I can say is that sometimes a pussy cat is just a pussy cat. Or to put it another way, in order to truly appreciate life you must accept that you are mortal and life could end ay any time.
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