How long until this guy is killed?

[MonkeyFunk]

The king of the jungle doesn't frighten the lion whisperer
By GLENYS ROBERTS -

Animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson has such an intimate bond with big cats that he can spend the night curled up with them without the slightest fear of attack.


Richardson, 32, who is based in a wildlife conservation area near Johannesburg in South Africa, works his unusual magic on other species too. Cheetahs, leopards and even unpredictable hyenas hold no threats for him.






More at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=464353&in_page_id=1770

[skygazer]

1. About as long as it took Timothy Treadwell to get eaten by bears

I don't think people like this do wild animals any favors at all - they need their fear of humans to keep them safe.

[jpgray]

2. Exactly what I was going to say

[mitchum]

4. Yes, Timothy Treadwell will soon have an afterlife buddy

[jobycom]

3. There are stories of Africans living with and near lions for generations.

There have been villages who lived in harmony with prides, where each staked out their own territories, and even seemed to communicate with each other. Often these relationships were damaged when outsiders began studying the situations, upsetting something in the balance, causing the lions to fear the villagers and take on a more predatory relationship.

Animals, in general, kill for food and for defense, and not out of principle, so in general, a person who can convince lions that he poses no threat and does not appear tasty should be reasonably safe. The problem is, every animal has its own personality, its own level of intelligence, and even its own level of fear. One mistake around a lion having a bad day, or a lion with an overly cautious streak, and he's a goner. Might never happen. Might happen next week. Without a clear system of communications, it's impossible for a human to always know what an animal is thinking, no matter how empathic he is.

Just my thoughts. Probably wrong, as always.

[InternalDialogue]

5. He must know how to do the kitty forehead tap really well.

Probably uses a fist. You know, distract the cat, make it feel inferior.

Of course, gazelles probably try it all the time. I guess dinner's dinner, when a lion is hungry.

[idgiehkt]

6. however long it takes them to get hungry

[Brigid]

7. Um, Kevin . . .

does the name Steve Irwin mean anything to you? And do those lions really look that much like domestic pussycats?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. I should have read this at the end of the year.

That's when the "dead pool" sites usually accept their bets.