Oped»
Pet theory
- Post Platform
KATHMANDU, FEB 08 -
Some days ago, authorities in Sumatra announced that the residents may rear tigers as pets. This provision, they say, is to save tigers from vanishing in the jungle. Earlier, such efforts had saved some other animals from the danger of extinction.
Can a ferocious and big animal like tigers be domesticated as a pet? Positive answer is hard to come, however, I have watched on the Discovery channel and Animal Planet that, tigers and lions can be reared like ‘dogs and cats’ if they are adopted young. The only problem you may face is when they grow old and big. Keeping such animals as a pet is an expensive affair, and this also may strain relations with your neighbours as your pet may bring constant fear among them.
However, in a certain documentary I watched some months ago, I saw a lion running after two brothers like a dog. The brothers had raised the lion for nine months in London before it was sent to an African National park. At the documentary, the lion, much bigger than the men, was shown to be hugging and licking the chicks of the brothers.
Like tigers and lions, even wolves, which are considered to be synonymous to the most distrustful creatures, can also be trained to live with men. Mark Rowlands, a professor of philosophy in the US, saw an advertisement of a wolf puppy on sale, and brought it home. He used to take the animal everywhere as his companion. Later he wrote a book, “The Philosopher and the Wolf.”
Humans, also an animal, has used other inferior animals in all sorts of trade and experiments, but I find it the most interesting when animals are studied to know and predict about our history and behavior. For example, an American linguist, once, reared a parrot and trained it to speak. Uncanny though, the bird used its brain to speak human language; words were not just jumble of sounds, they carried meanings even to a parrot. After the parrot died, the aggrieved linguist wrote an entire book about the bird.
We all have our own notions about animals drawn from the books we read, people we talk to and our own experiences. Culture, places and experiences shape our thinking but, astonishingly, some practices are common everywhere like, — snakes are killed by the rural folks as soon as they are spotted, ass is a word of abuse in almost all culture.
Animals interest me; I watch and contemplate animals when I have nothing productive to do. For years I have been observing my parents’ pets. People may not agree but I found dogs not so loyal as generally believed, and cats are opportunists and traitors. I have had discussions with pet keepers, sellers and trainers, and studied the animals which are less popular as pets. After this, I came to a conclusion that even these big animals can be interesting pets.
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