Flamingos and Tigers and Frat Boys... oh my!
Earlier in the week, there was a scavenger hunt, turned deadly, in my home town. New pledges of the Delta Mu Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at the University of Southern Mississippi were sent off on a scavenger hunt. One of the requirements was to take a photo of a flamingo. But being nineteen, male, and probably drunk, they decided that stealing a flamingo would be more fun instead.
Long story short; they broke into the zoo around one am, they abducted the female flamingo, and attacked the male flamingo when he came to the rescue of his mate. They then proceeded to torture the female flamingo and then dump her injured, but still alive body, on my street. The police were called, they returned the female flamingo, but her injuries were so terrible that she had to be put down. Later that day the male flamingo died from his injuries sustained in the 'battle'.
The guy who actually attacked the male flamingo and stole the female, Nottis, is in custody. Originally it was only on charges of grand larceny, but now he's being slammed with one count of trespass and two counts of animal abuse. Three other guys were caught on the zoo's video surveillance, but those names have not been released. Also five more guys are being accused in conjunction with, I suppose, the injuries sustained by the female flamingo. Nottis has also been suspended from the university, until a judgment can be made on his continued enrollment. He will be arrested if he steps foot on campus except for university judiciary proceedings. Bond has also been set for his release from jail at $17,000. Also the Delta Mu Chapter has been indefinitely suspended and Pi Kappa Alpha has been suspended, by the national chapter, for thirty days.
I personally couldn't care less about theft or trespassing. And while I'm not a fan of flamingo's or large birds in general, it doesn't mean I want them harmed. No, this story upsets me because animals were traumatized, beaten, tortured and died.
I personally haven't been to our zoo in a few years. I knew we had obtained two golden eagles, but that was not difficult to hear about, since the USM mascot is the golden eagle, there was a lot of hoopla over their arrival at the zoo. But I did not know about the Chilean Flamingos. But that doesn't make the story less tragic, or me, any less upset. And apparently I'm told that Chilean Flamingos are about 1,200 - 1,500 dollars each.
I, personally, was surprised that this story didn't garner mere indifference from the university or most of the residents of Hattiesburg, as in years past. I'm genuinely wondering two things; would there have be indifference were Nottis a precious college football player, and two, are people jumping on board mainly because it's something super hip to be up in arms about? It's a loaded question that could receive backlash, but it is not out of the ordinary for my town.
But, whatever the reasoning, I am glad people are up in arms over this story. The university, the police, the citizens are positively hopping mad that this happened. And this was before there was national and international coverage of this story, which incidentally, after the coverage is when they slammed him with two counts of animal abuse, so it does make one wonder.
Animal abuse/cruelty laws are not very strong in this state, which is a travesty. So, I'm not sure what will happen about that when this thing goes to trial. I'm really hoping they can make that stick, or else those birds died in vain, so to speak.
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| Chilean Flamingo at local zoo; photo from local news |
The guy who actually attacked the male flamingo and stole the female, Nottis, is in custody. Originally it was only on charges of grand larceny, but now he's being slammed with one count of trespass and two counts of animal abuse. Three other guys were caught on the zoo's video surveillance, but those names have not been released. Also five more guys are being accused in conjunction with, I suppose, the injuries sustained by the female flamingo. Nottis has also been suspended from the university, until a judgment can be made on his continued enrollment. He will be arrested if he steps foot on campus except for university judiciary proceedings. Bond has also been set for his release from jail at $17,000. Also the Delta Mu Chapter has been indefinitely suspended and Pi Kappa Alpha has been suspended, by the national chapter, for thirty days.
I personally couldn't care less about theft or trespassing. And while I'm not a fan of flamingo's or large birds in general, it doesn't mean I want them harmed. No, this story upsets me because animals were traumatized, beaten, tortured and died.
I personally haven't been to our zoo in a few years. I knew we had obtained two golden eagles, but that was not difficult to hear about, since the USM mascot is the golden eagle, there was a lot of hoopla over their arrival at the zoo. But I did not know about the Chilean Flamingos. But that doesn't make the story less tragic, or me, any less upset. And apparently I'm told that Chilean Flamingos are about 1,200 - 1,500 dollars each.
I, personally, was surprised that this story didn't garner mere indifference from the university or most of the residents of Hattiesburg, as in years past. I'm genuinely wondering two things; would there have be indifference were Nottis a precious college football player, and two, are people jumping on board mainly because it's something super hip to be up in arms about? It's a loaded question that could receive backlash, but it is not out of the ordinary for my town.
But, whatever the reasoning, I am glad people are up in arms over this story. The university, the police, the citizens are positively hopping mad that this happened. And this was before there was national and international coverage of this story, which incidentally, after the coverage is when they slammed him with two counts of animal abuse, so it does make one wonder.
Animal abuse/cruelty laws are not very strong in this state, which is a travesty. So, I'm not sure what will happen about that when this thing goes to trial. I'm really hoping they can make that stick, or else those birds died in vain, so to speak.
This was posted on Friday, through the zoo's Facebook page. As you can see it received a lot of attention, with all of it positive about how the post was ingenious.
This is just absurd. I understand that they are trying to make a joke, but I find it lacking. The tigers don't give two flying flips about the flamingo's, except as dinner. It feels forced to make them appear to feel empathy for what would be their food. The reason they would eat nineteen year old college boys is, not out of loyalty for another species but because, that they are also seen as food. And the hashtags, really? Is this really something the general human population finds droll, because I just can't get on board with it.
I'm sure that this is the part where someone steps in to tell me to lighten up; that it's all in jest. It is, in fact, a comment I have received all of my life. But, I'm just not seeing it. It's about as amusing to me as this red arm chair beside me. Perhaps I just like cats more than humans and birds. Tigers are quite superior to both. One can say that a human is superior to a tiger because a human is the predator. But, really when the two meet face to face, who's more afraid? I'll give you a hint... it's not the tiger, and for good reason too!
I might also be told I'm over reacting or reading into things, but it just seems like the Bengals are not getting the respect that they deserve here. They've become little more than a joke. Like the humans would rather see them as friendly until provoked security guards than what they really are; kings of the jungle. I'm aware that this appears to be a moot point considering they are locked inside of a zoo for humans to be entertained by, which is a fine border that I walk pertaining to animals. For instance should the Bengal be left in its native habitat, when its numbers are dwindling due to the humans that kill it, or should they be preserved in zoos to still continue their legacies? Is it even really living? Perhaps they do not mind?
I find that I don't have words to actually express all the thoughts swirling around in my head about this, except that humans are baffling to me and that the aforementioned Facebook status didn't sit well with me.
This is just absurd. I understand that they are trying to make a joke, but I find it lacking. The tigers don't give two flying flips about the flamingo's, except as dinner. It feels forced to make them appear to feel empathy for what would be their food. The reason they would eat nineteen year old college boys is, not out of loyalty for another species but because, that they are also seen as food. And the hashtags, really? Is this really something the general human population finds droll, because I just can't get on board with it.
I'm sure that this is the part where someone steps in to tell me to lighten up; that it's all in jest. It is, in fact, a comment I have received all of my life. But, I'm just not seeing it. It's about as amusing to me as this red arm chair beside me. Perhaps I just like cats more than humans and birds. Tigers are quite superior to both. One can say that a human is superior to a tiger because a human is the predator. But, really when the two meet face to face, who's more afraid? I'll give you a hint... it's not the tiger, and for good reason too!
I might also be told I'm over reacting or reading into things, but it just seems like the Bengals are not getting the respect that they deserve here. They've become little more than a joke. Like the humans would rather see them as friendly until provoked security guards than what they really are; kings of the jungle. I'm aware that this appears to be a moot point considering they are locked inside of a zoo for humans to be entertained by, which is a fine border that I walk pertaining to animals. For instance should the Bengal be left in its native habitat, when its numbers are dwindling due to the humans that kill it, or should they be preserved in zoos to still continue their legacies? Is it even really living? Perhaps they do not mind?
I find that I don't have words to actually express all the thoughts swirling around in my head about this, except that humans are baffling to me and that the aforementioned Facebook status didn't sit well with me.
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