Child of the Wild: Tiger cub>Minister>Zoo Director

[Explaining the Title first: The Tiger cub is of MUCH greater importance as compared to the latter two - this was for anyone who was wondering why the ">" is there.]

Last night's news was playing a video recording of an Agriculture Minister from Mahasrashtra, entering a cage in some particular zoo. No random cage. A cage with a Tiger cub inside it. I'm going to try and upload one of the videos in this article, but in case I can't, I will put in a few links to newsfeeds that have reported this incident.

As per the title of this article, the minister obviously went in with his gunman. He was shown playing around with the cub.. and according to me, this whole ordeal, is nothing short of complete lunacy. Everyone involved in this stupidity obviously forgot that it was a TIGER cub and not a regular house kitten.

IF the cub had sprung on them, in irritation, these people would have left no stone unturned in spontaneously and immediately hurting the cub thinking that it would kill the concerned person. We have enough evidence the world over to KNOW that a wild animal, no matter how calm it looks or how long it has been in captivity, has WILDERNESS written all over its DNA. It WILL display its wild side some day.. and why provoke it to do so? How can anyone assume that the animal will just sit there like it wants to be played with and teased?

Educated people, in our government behave like this! And educated people AROUND those people do nothing to stop this audacity!

The gunman would have hurt at the cub had the cub done something even as trivial as scratched the minister's wrist! It's a SCHEDULE 1 animal according to our Constitution's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. ANY individual is NOT allowed to touch a Schedule One animal apart from the animal's keepers. For the first time in my life, I find myself agreeing with what Maneka Gandhi said about this yesterday.

The real person who should be blasted off his post, is in fact the Zoo Director! The Minister was a lunatic anyway.. it wasn't even stupid. It was plain senselessness and over-confidence on his part. But for the director of the zoo to have allowed this to take place, was something even worse. You cannot be a responsible person if you have young Tiger cubs in your zoo in cages which are being opened by stupid agriculture ministers who want to "check on the animal".

As if the AGRICULTURE minister would know a DAMN about the health of a Tiger cub and whether it has cancer or pneumonia or is perfectly fine. A Tiger is NOT a Cotton Crop, Mr.Thorat! It is a wild cat. And that is what it had better remain.

Mr.Balasaheb Thorat and his highly unbelievable claims are just living proof that even parts of our Government don't take conservation, and that too, Tiger conservation seriously. And might I add, that there was a Congress District In-charge hanging around with our incredibly concerned Mr.Thorat while all this was happening.

Had I been the Gunman.. I'd have a choice. Tiger or Man. And I, would have shot- the man.

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