No claws for alarm as party gets wild
Koalas are in the wild being cut down in their trees for your shopping centres – Dreamworld are saving them – tigers are almost extinct from poachers.
This guy could have very well lost his own arm for stepping in to save what could of been a very nasty cat fight. Good job to him I say.
Well done to the handlers for preventing a situation that could have escalated and potentially have young children witness a tiger being mauled!
Tigers are naturally lone animals and shouldn’t be kept together in man-made enclosures. DREAMWORLD’S tiger cubs had a ripper of a day to celebrate their second birthdays.
But while the cubs Adira, Akasha, Kiko and Kali tore into presents, the theme park was defending its trainers after a controversial video went viral on social media.
The footage, posted by concerned Brisbane tourist Xy Latu on to Instagram on Wednesday night showed two handlers in the pen with Akasha and Kai.
Mr Latu said he had taken his family out to the park for the day when he noticed the pair either begin to have a scuffle or play too rough.
“I saw a worker grab a branch and thought that doesn’t look right,” he said, adding the handler then struck the tiger over the head with it.
In the video, one handler appears to grab the tail of Akasha as she stands and moves towards Kai.
A second handler then appears to strike Akasha twice on the head as she moves her head to the side and lies down.
Viewers of the footage showed concern for the young tiger, posting comments such as “This makes me sick’’ and “So wrong” while another wrote “And people wonder why animals turn on them ??? Dumb dudes.”
Dreamworld was swift to defend claims the animals were harmed.
General manager of life sciences Al Mucci said the care and welfare of their tigers was paramount, with all handlers highly experienced in working with tigers.
“The video provided to the Bulletin does not show the lead-up to the incident, where Dreamworld’s two handlers placed themselves between the two duelling tigers to separate them and prevent injury,” Mr Mucci said in a written statement.
He also addressed the use of canes, saying: “At various points on Tiger Island handlers can access safety canes for the purpose of separating tigers.
“The handler’s actions to refocus Akasha were explained to guests immediately after the tigers were separated.
“The tigers in this video were showing antagonistic behaviour and needed separating before they had an opportunity to hurt each other.
“Open hand taps to the facial area is the safest way to refocus tigers who are challenging each other and this is consistent with the way in which tigers communicate with each other in similar situations.
“The tiger’s tail is one of its strongest parts of the body. Tigers and handlers routinely play with the tail.
“Akasha and Kai are both 100kg animals and the intervention of our handlers prevented a situation that may have escalated.”
RSPCA chief executive officer Mark Townend said they had spoken to Dreamworld staff after viewing the footage.
“When it comes to any animal training situation, RSPCA only supports positive reinforcement. This is the methodology normally used by Dreamworld,” he said.
“While not defending this negative training technique, RSPCA Qld acknowledges that this is an established, currently legal method used.”