Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Safari day

When bad winter weather causes schools to close, students know how to enjoy their snow day--but how will students around Zanesville, Ohio, spend their Lions-and-Tigers-and-Bears Day?

The hunt is on for exotic animals on the loose just 45 miles north of here after officers found a wild-animal collector dead and his animals set free last night (read about it here). Several school districts in the area cancelled classes and the sheriff urged people to stay indoors while officers search for more than 40 animals, including lions, tigers, wolves, black bears (which are native to Ohio), and grizzly bears (which are not).

Right now we have more questions than answers about this incident: How did the owner die? Who opened all the animals' cages? How many animals were released? Will the remaining animals be captured or will they all be destroyed? Which poses a greater danger: a fleeing cheetah or the armed men in hot pursuit?

The sheriff urged residents to stay home and leave the big-game hunting to the experts, and I sincerely hope all those idle schoolchildren will take that advice to heart--or if they can't resist the desire to go on safari, this would be a good day to explore the wonders of the imagination.

No comments: