Today’s NY Times has an article entitled Florida Wildlife Park’s Lions Lose Some Freedom to Roam, by Abby Goodnough. It concerns a safari park that is near and dear to my childhood memories, despite only one visit. I remember driving through the park with my parents and sisters listening to this lioness asthsmatically hack like there was no tomorrow.
The story of that trip doesn’t end until we get lost on the way home and end up in Yeehaw Junction, Florida. Yes, that is a real placename.
But that is getting aside from the real story, which is people not following common sense rules. Such as…
If you followed the rules – windows up, doors locked, absolutely no pets or convertibles – you could motor among packs of the fearsome creatures at Lion Country Safari, a drive-through wildlife preserve whose residents occasionally dislodged bumpers and gnawed on side-view mirrors.
But in November, Lion Country Safari enclosed its 14 African lions in a tall chain-link fence to keep rule-breaking visitors from becoming lunch. Too many were opening their car windows and occasionally even doors, a park official said, making the threat of lawsuits too great for the small attraction.
Ahhh, people.
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