in Writing Exercises

Attacking Animals

I’m watching a TV show (on National Geographic) about animals who have attacked people. Most of the people are tourists who want to camp or swim in areas where there are known predators. So, they are choosing to take a risk. The TV show is making it all look so shocking, as if these animals were daring to attack humans.

The problem is that the animals are trying to survive. Hunting meat is what they do.

I wish someone would make a TV show which would document more animal killings. Show how humans kill the predatory animals and how little room they have left to exist versus the space which humans take over. Not even counting areas which are long domesticated and urbanized. Just looking at the areas where predators like wolves, bears and such still have and notice how little space it really is when you discount areas where people are farming, have some sort of dwelling or use for tourist activities.

How is it we make so much drama about animals killing people and yet we hardly blink when it comes to how people are killing animals. Not only in the way we kill them for sport or as food but in the way we are gradually giving them no space left to exist on the planet.

Will it end up one day that we have no animals living in the wild at all? When they take the last of the wild areas to grow food for the over population of humans will the last of the animals be pampered pets, feral pets and animals in captivity, like zoos?

Don’t misunderstand, I do feel sad for the people killed by animals. I just see it blown out of proportion. If you think about the numbers, the humans are far more likely to be the killer than the one being killed.

If you were writing a story (non-fiction or fiction) about an animal attack would you be writing about an animal attack on the side of the animal or the human? Would you have some understanding of the animal or just be disgusted that an animal would attack a human?