Comment by saguarobird on 17/03/2022 at 00:40 UTC*

1902 upvotes, 50 direct replies (showing 25)

I am currently not in the field, but I did get my degrees in ecology and wildlife conservation. I worked for AZA accreditted institutions for awhile before pursuing my current career, but I follow wildlife matters closely.

No reputable sanctuary would ever allow human/cat interaction at this level, especially with a jaguar. This is absolutely NOT a sanctuary or positive environment. This is likely a roadside zoo or personal operation that claims to be a santcuary but, since there are not rules on using that term, you can basically be Tiger King and claim to be a santucary.

There have been a disturbing amount of videos circulating reddit with interactions like this, with lions, tigers, bears, etc. Instagram fought back against the videos as many influencers were doing "glamorous" photoshoots with exotic wildlife, specifically bears, so I guess they've moved to reddit. You should never, ever, ever see this happening. I personally provided care for two jaguars and I live and visit an area where jaguars are indigenous. I am chill about interacting with wildlife as I know it is there home and I am just visiting. I do not fuck with jaguars. Ever. They are responsible for the most deaths in captive situations. Even when an animal is resuced and no longer viable for release, they may appear docile but you have NO idea what may trigger a response. If you trigger that response, someone gets hurts, and the animal winds up euthanized. Therefore there is NO ethical way to even try to justify your interaction with these animals at this level. All you are doing is endangering them, promoting exotic wildlife trade, and perpetuating poaching.

I have reported this video and I will continue to report any video where the person filming does not provide concrete, viable reasons why they are in the enclosure with the animal. I encourage everyone to do the same. Most subreddits do not have this illegal activity as a part of there sub rules so I try to find something that fits the best then explain why it should not be allowed.

With that said, I try not to denounce the people in the video because I don't know what they have been told. As you saw in Blackfish and Tiger King, employees were often not formerly education and were told lies, thinking they were helping animals. So I don't know the videographers history, but this video should not exist or be celebrated.

Edit: Woooow, everyone, what a wonderful response. Sorry for all the typos, now I am kind of embarrassed. Thank you for the rewards and THANK YOU for everyone saying they learned something. I believe it was 2019, Nat Geo had a great investigative cover story about wildlife tourism. There appears to be a video[1] about it (warning: graphic). Please support the Big Cat Public Safety Act[2] if you are in the US!

1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITlo2ZBJOWU

2: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/263?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22big+cat+public+safety+act%22%5D%7D&s=2&r=3

Replies

Comment by wirelessflyingcord at 17/03/2022 at 01:06 UTC

378 upvotes, 1 direct replies

This is absolutely NOT a sanctuary or positive environment. This is likely a roadside zoo or personal operation that claims to be a santcuary

This seems to be exactly the case...

https://reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/tfsthl/absolute_beauty/i0ycia0?context=3

Comment by BomberGirl_576 at 17/03/2022 at 01:28 UTC

132 upvotes, 1 direct replies

This needs to be higher, have my free upvote. This video has so many 🚩🚩🚩🚩 People need to stop supporting these illegal activities

Comment by [deleted] at 17/03/2022 at 02:05 UTC

31 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Thank you. A sanctuary or rescue should be completely non-contact, regardless whether or not the cats are going to be released once again.

Comment by Adonoxis at 17/03/2022 at 01:02 UTC

112 upvotes, 3 direct replies

Exactly. It should be illegal for everyone besides accredited organizations to have in possession any exotic animals. Sustainable, captive-bred for generations in which the wild populations are not threatened is fine but these people who have $20,000 parrots captured from the wild, some rare marsupial from Australia on a leash, or some monkey in a diaper as pets are disgusting.

Morons talking about how much they love animals meanwhile you look at the Wikipedia page of the animal and see how the exotic pet trade is making tons of species go extinct. That animal you bought was captured from the rainforest and 2 of its kind died as the 3 were smuggled in suitcases.

Comment by giottoduccio at 17/03/2022 at 03:20 UTC

18 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Thank you for saying this! I was immediately like, is that a JAGUAR?! I'm a giant animal lover and super curious about animal behavior and stuff, but you couldn't pay me to get close to a big cat, let alone a jaguar. I recall reading in a thread a while back that had a bunch of comments from zookeepers saying that the only animal in their facility that had kill on sight orders (instead of tranquilizing) in the event of escape were jaguars because they will hunt and kill just for fun.

Yeah, I'm really hating this trend of hanging out with wild animals. It's nice as a fantasy, but not so much in reality. I'll go ahead and report this too.

Comment by Haiyk at 17/03/2022 at 01:52 UTC

33 upvotes, 2 direct replies

It's the first time I read this sort of comment on videos like this. I know you mentioned mainly cats, but about Wolves? There are several places people can visit and actually touch them, is it a different case due to a different animal? Also, what about those two famous guys that get alongside lions on Savanas? Is that different because the guys are the ones entering the lions space?

Comment by EmykoEmyko at 17/03/2022 at 01:20 UTC

31 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Thank you for stating this so well. You should generalize this comment for use as copypasta on similar posts.

Comment by Tushie77 at 17/03/2022 at 00:48 UTC

49 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Are you reporting the video to Reddit or is there a third-party place we should also report videos?

Thank you so much for explaining & sharing your knowledge. This is why I adore Reddit!

Comment by [deleted] at 17/03/2022 at 01:21 UTC

24 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Yeah, my first thought was that he's basically locked up in a shoebox. This is not cute, it's sad.

Comment by DiligentTangelo3469 at 17/03/2022 at 03:25 UTC*

12 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Thank you for articulation of everything that is wrong with this video.

It is not cute, I think this cat is miserable. There is nothing natural about a large cat just wanting to ‘hang out in a box’ and seeking pets from a human.

My thoughts are did they declaw this majestic animal, pull teeth to make it less dangerous and is it drugged.

Comment by SquirrelAkl at 17/03/2022 at 04:04 UTC

8 upvotes, 1 direct replies

100%

I worked at a reputable sanctuary for a while, with pumas. They also had a jaguar, and he lived on a series of rope runners (couldn’t be released into the wild). His carer had taken months to build a relationship of trust with him. One day his normal carer had a day off and a different girl had to feed him. She lost her footing on the wet ground, and he pounced, tearing her legs to shreds with his claws.

She lived to tell the tale, but needed urgent medical attention and had to get back to her home country asap to get proper care for the infection in the wounds. (We were near a small village in Bolivia, and it was 10+ years ago, so the local hospital wasn’t well funded)

You don’t mess with jaguars.

Comment by ClintonKelly87 at 17/03/2022 at 03:06 UTC

15 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Judging by the voice and the boop she gave it at the end, it sounds like "Safari Sammie" who is a certified piece of shit.

Comment by foolonthe at 17/03/2022 at 02:08 UTC

9 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Came here to say this. Thank you!

Comment by [deleted] at 17/03/2022 at 03:30 UTC

7 upvotes, 1 direct replies

[removed]

Comment by __maddcribbage__ at 17/03/2022 at 01:30 UTC

10 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Considering your education, would you mind explaining why a captive animal must be euthanized after it hurts someone? Is that a universal concept regardless of what the victim was doing? Like what if they are provoking the animal intentionally? It almost sounds like petty revenge to euthanize so I am curious if there is a more measured reason behind that decision.

Comment by [deleted] at 17/03/2022 at 02:54 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

This needs to be the top comment. Couldn’t agree more.

Comment by Dr_Legacy at 17/03/2022 at 03:29 UTC

4 upvotes, 1 direct replies

This one looks very young, also. In the wild this cat would probably still be with its family

Comment by [deleted] at 17/03/2022 at 02:38 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

[deleted]

Comment by lynessmormont at 17/03/2022 at 03:47 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Thank you so much for this. It's so hard seeing these videos and knowing that animal isn't being cared for properly. Poor thing looks overweight as well.

Comment by [deleted] at 17/03/2022 at 04:32 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

[deleted]

Comment by sneakyminxx at 17/03/2022 at 07:01 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

This is similar to the guy who owns white tiger/black jaguar right? He claims to be helping them grow in populations but he’s constantly handling all of them and it’s absolutely ridiculous

Comment by Rais93 at 17/03/2022 at 15:13 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

You can also encounter a fellow human that "may appear docile but you have NO idea what may trigger a response".

Comment by miraculum_one at 17/03/2022 at 01:58 UTC

5 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Additionally, the vast majority of these animals are drugged. I don't know if that explains the twitching in this video but this is both a travesty and a tragedy.