Animal Preserve

Our most recent field trip took us to an animal preserve. I was excited since several of our friends had gone and said such wonderful things about it. This place is a sanctuary for wild life that was rescued from dangerous and harmful situations. Each animal had a story-some were rescued from people who foolishly tried to keep these animals as pets, some rescued from closets where they were left to starve to death, some rescued from the back of semi-trucks where they lived, some rescued from the circus, some just dropped off by former owners. 

I can't stop singing this song...
"Like a Lion"

It was easy to feel sorry for these animals, but they cannot easily or possibly be reintroduced to the wild since they were born into captivity. Some were born at this preserve since the owners would state that the animals had been spade or neutered and they actually hadn't been. They are well cared for and fed and loved, as much as you can love a still wild beast. These animals can't be fully domesticated, which the former owners found out, mostly too late, but they did show affection for these people that care for them and obeyed them too. That was reassuring. Slightly...

They day before we went on this field trip, we were reading in this book, which I love, by the way:

We were reading about David Livingstone. As a missionary to Africa, he had a harrowing experience where he was attacked by a lion, and the Lord spared his life, thankfully. But how amazing that we read this story just before we went to stare a lion in the face? I love how God schools us all!

One of the guides walked along behind our group. She and I chatted a good bit, and I was able to ask her questions about the sanctuary, and especially about the animals. I asked her if they ever fought, especially since some weren't in cages by themselves. She said they did, but they were able to yell at them, bang a stick on the fence, spray them with water, or at a last resort, spray a fire extinguisher near them, not on them, which scares them badly. I was glad they had ways of stopping them if they started fighting. 

I was absolutely amazed to be this close to these animals. I was mesmerized by them. Just to be this close to them was almost overwhelming. I was struck by God and this majestic creation. To be so close that you could see the individual hairs on their heads, hear them breathing, see the absolutely mammoth size of their paws. I could have stood there all day, just looking... and worshiping God, their Creator.

I was crouched down on the ground, taking pictures of the animals. I was so close to them. I was totally absorbed in watching them and studying them feeling so awed by them. 

Suddenly these two tigers started fighting, growling, snapping, rolling against the fence fur flying.

I jumped back, feeling the power of their growls and the strength of their bodies slamming into the fence. The guide that I had been talking to yelled and they reluctantly separated, growling at each other as the parted.

My heart pounded in my chest as I struggled to control my breaths. I cannot describe what it was like to be close close to them as they fought. It was indescribable.

I felt a little uneasy as we walked on to the next animal. 

If it weren't for those fences, we would be lunch.

Exactly how strong are chain link fences? Super strong, I hoped,  seeing how much faith we were putting into them to protect us. 

When this not yet fully grown bear stood on his hind legs, he towered nearly 7 feet tall. He'll be almost 9 feet tall when he finished growing.

No camping in the mountains for me any time soon, I'm thinking. 

The lion was my favorite. He was so beautiful. And so seemingly docile. He wasn't too interested in us, and pretty much ignored us the whole time. It felt a little hard to reconcile the lion that attacked David Livingstone with this same beast. 

His roar can be hear for four miles, if I recall correctly the information the guide gave. 

I really wanted to hear that roar. 

The verse 

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them..

kept ringing in my head. 

It almost seemed like a malformation to see him so peaceful and still. 

What about the lions that waited to devour Daniel, but the angel kept their mouths closed? And then, when the men who had accused Daniel were cast into the den, along with their children and wives, the Bible says that "...they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones."

I could see that. His paws were enormous. You could hear his weight when he slumped against the fence. Even his head was just huge. 

His beauty was incredible.  I could have studied him all day. 

Gosh, I love that kid. And his hair kills me. 

 The next animals were cougars. They were almost mocking in the way they looked at us from their houses. The guide called to them, and they literally looked away. I thought, "Wow. They really could not care less about us."

Well, that wasn't exactly true.

As soon as we all walked to the next exhibit, they came out of their houses alright. 

The guide next to me looked at me and smiled. 

I gulped and asked, "Um, they are stalking the babies, aren't they?"

She nodded "yes."

To say it made me uncomfortable is an understatement. 

I wasn't used to being the prey, and not the predator. Not that I am usually the predator, but I do eat animals, so I guess in a way that makes me the predator. But these animals were the predators, and they knew it. Had those fences not been there, we would have been the prey.

It wasn't that I didn't feel safe. I did. But to see humans as the prey was unsettling to me. It was surreal to think that unless we had weapons, we wouldn't have stood a chance against these animals. 

And they were stalking the babies. The little kids. The especially defenseless ones. 

Not that I would have had any luck against them. Or even the man that was with us. They would have ripped us limb from limb. 

Can you tell by this how the baby walked from my right to behind me?

It's chilling. 

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

This guy was beautiful also. Want to know what he was looking so intently at?

Yep. He even crouched down at one point, ready to pounce. Thankful for the fences, again. 

This creature was stunning. 

He also reached out to our guide and missed her by inches. She scolded him and told us that he could have pulled her into the fence. Their strength is mind boggling.  

He seems rather disappointed that he didn't get a paw in her.  

He didn't feel badly enough to keep from stalking the little kids. Again with the stalking.  

I happened to glance up and notice that across a patch of land we were being studied by a rather large wolf. He looked as though he also might like to have us for lunch.

I was getting a little tired of feeling like someone's dinner. 

This just made me happy. I love that kid. 

This is proof I was there - me and the middle kid.

I really love this kid. 

Did I already say that?

I love all of them, actually.

This made me enormously happy. I am going to try to find a way to incorporate it into my blog somehow. 

We got home late, and I collapsed on the couch. Zane pulled out his "How to Draw" book and proceeded to draw a lion. We all loved the day. I am still thinking about those animals! I hope to go back again...