*** Disclaimer: No dingos or babies were harmed in the actual events or retelling of this story. ****
Allison almost got mauled by a tiger yesterday! (well, not really but it sure felt like it)
It was a pretty nice day so we went to the zoo. The kids had a great time. One of the last animals we saw was the tiger. One tiger was roaming around in his outside enclosure. First we watched him from outside and then we went in the feline house to see him more up close.
I have to try to lay out the room for you. There is a thick pane of glass that looks out onto the tiger enclosure. About 2 feet in front of the glass is a metal railing. There are signs that you should not cross past the metal railing. I've always assumed that was to keep people from going right up to the glass and either knocking on it or pressing their face right against it.
So we are in this area and the kids are getting kind of tired and not listening. They are both crouching under the railing. We kept pulling them back and were just about to leave when Allison went back under the metal railing and was running away from me along the windows. As I'm telling her to get back over on the right side I see the tiger running toward the window. He made a big paw swipe at the glass right at her back. Even though I knew there was glass there it scared the crap out of me. 10 minutes later my heart was still racing. It was a good thing she was facing away from the window because she would have freaked if she'd seen that tiger gunning for her.
It was a pretty nice day so we went to the zoo. The kids had a great time. One of the last animals we saw was the tiger. One tiger was roaming around in his outside enclosure. First we watched him from outside and then we went in the feline house to see him more up close.
I have to try to lay out the room for you. There is a thick pane of glass that looks out onto the tiger enclosure. About 2 feet in front of the glass is a metal railing. There are signs that you should not cross past the metal railing. I've always assumed that was to keep people from going right up to the glass and either knocking on it or pressing their face right against it.
So we are in this area and the kids are getting kind of tired and not listening. They are both crouching under the railing. We kept pulling them back and were just about to leave when Allison went back under the metal railing and was running away from me along the windows. As I'm telling her to get back over on the right side I see the tiger running toward the window. He made a big paw swipe at the glass right at her back. Even though I knew there was glass there it scared the crap out of me. 10 minutes later my heart was still racing. It was a good thing she was facing away from the window because she would have freaked if she'd seen that tiger gunning for her.
Word to the wise… when it says not to cross a barrier at the zoo – they mean it.
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