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The entire point of having elephants at the circus is to see elephants. Real, living, breathing elephants, social creatures which weigh several tons with a brai
by fennecfoxen 10y ago
The entire point of having elephants at the circus is to see elephants. Real, living, breathing elephants, social creatures which weigh several tons with a brain three times the size of yours - and, in the best case, to see them interacting with humans as part of an elaborately choreographed performance showcasing the strength and skill and agility of man and beast alike.
Animatronic mockeries? Why bother?
- DanBC 10y agoRoyal de Luxe seems to do well with their giant elephant puppet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_de_Luxe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_de_Luxe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_de_luxe_%C3%A0_Amiens_en_2005.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_de_luxe_%C3%A0_Amie...
- astrodust 10y agoPrecisely. You can celebrate the animal without keeping them captive.
- astrodust 10y agoAnimatronic dinosaurs, why bother? It's because keeping a highly intelligent animal captive and part of a circus borders on cruelty even if the crew is doing their utmost to help the animals. In the wild they roam over extraordinary distances. They're creatures that explore. Keeping them penned in, if not for conservation or academic purposes, is something we should avoid. If they could give consent, sure, but I don't see that bridge being crossed any time soon. Note this also applies to dolphins and other non-human people.
- fennecfoxen 10y ago> It's because keeping a highly intelligent animal captive and part of a circus borders on cruelty even if the crew is doing their utmost to help the animals. This adequately answers "why not real elephants?" but doesn't answer "why bother with animatronics" at all. > Animatronic dinosaurs, why bother? Is there someone who bothers?