Jungle Safari

Was a little shocked to pull into the parking lot of the Tejas Shopping Center to see some kids riding a camel in a circle. And then a Bengal Tiger. That was Friday. Stopped by today at the end of the Bryan Parade and took a look at all of the animals, including the rarer black panther and white Bengal tiger. Sunday was a particularly large turnout of people and the people were actually more diverse than the animals which was a little funny.
While it was cool to be able to get this close to some huge cats, to me it seemed a little heart-​breaking and wrong for them to be in cages. They are owned by some dude named Robert Engesser from Florida and apparently he gets by with the proper legal permits to do this but I’m not so sure it’s ethical. The panther was asleep and looked comfortable on a shelf and while the animals all looked extremely healthy and in good condition, the tigers did little but pace back and forth as they clearly wanted out of the cages. I have a secret desire that one day they will get out and eat Robert Engesser. (not really…) I guess there’s a value in children being able to see animals very close in areas of the country that do not have permanent displays but I fear the underlying message is that people can control wild animals. Not sure what the solution is.