Breaking! Lion Attack Incident at Thailand Wildlife Park Café

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The Rising Trend of Animal-Themed Cafés

Animal-themed cafés have been extremely popular in many Asian countries in recent years! Beyond common adorable pet-themed cafés featuring cats, dogs, ducks, rabbits, and pigs.

In regions like Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, wildlife-themed cafés have become increasingly popular. Many of these feature exotic species prohibited from trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), including various species of owls, parrots, hedgehogs, and others. According to trade records from various countries, few wild animals are exported through legal channels, suggesting that many animals in these cafés may have been smuggled. These animals, originally living freely in nature, are captured by humans and confined to small spaces.

Recent Lion Café Incident

Recently, a biting incident occurred at a lion-themed zoo café in Thailand. According to the social media post, a young lion was repeatedly awakened by its keeper (staff member) to "entertain customers" during sleep. When the customer was about to leave, the lion approached and bit them, leaving everyone present stunned.

Fortunately, the young lion didn't intend to cause harm—it was likely overexcited or momentarily temperamental, resulting in the biting behavior. The customer wasn't seriously injured, though clear bite marks were visible.

Since the skin wasn't broken, the staff immediately provided disinfection treatment. The customer didn't blame the staff, reassuring them not to worry, and planned to get a rabies vaccine after returning home.

During their sharing experience, the customer noted that lion ownership is legal in Thailand, and since these are carefully human-raised animals, unlike those in circuses or animal performance groups that abuse animals. Also, out of genuine love for lions, they decided to visit this café. During the visit, they observed that the staff took meticulous care of the young lion and showed no abusive behavior.

Understanding the Animals' Perspective

It's estimated that the young lion made the biting behavior because it had been living in a confined space for extended periods, had disrupted sleep patterns, and was frequently forcibly awakened during rest. Later, the customer stated they wouldn't visit such establishments again, realizing from this incident that even with careful care, cafés are indeed unsuitable environments for wildlife development.

After returning home, the customer sought medical attention. The hospital indicated that since the bite didn't break the skin through clothing and no wound occurred, a rabies vaccine wasn't necessary. However, despite the lack of injury, due to the young lion's strong bite force, even a gentle bite resulted in bruising.

Such incidents are not unprecedented. Previously, many wildlife cafés have experienced raccoon biting incidents, also because the animals were repeatedly disturbed by customers while sleeping, leading them to scratch customers.

Additionally, some owls in cafés suffer from insufficient sleep during the day due to constant customer disturbances. While showing fear responses (closing their eyes), many people mistake these for signs of enjoyment. As a result, many owls develop varying degrees of psychological conditions and show different levels of aggression when seeing people.

They are wild animals! How could they possibly enjoy human contact? What you perceive as enjoyment is actually their fear and panic! Unlike other animals, for owls, certain behaviors are intimidating displays. When owls are petted and their movements slow down with eyes half-closed, they are actually terrified... You think they're smiling? Actually, their mouth corners naturally turn upward... So not all animals feel comfortable with gentle petting! Some owls may even die from stress.

Current Situation and Future Outlook

Although teams and even governments in multiple regions have stepped in to ban the establishment of wildlife-themed cafés, the results haven't met expectations. This is largely because as tourism resumes in various countries and regions, such themed cafés remain highly attractive to visitors from other regions.

No trade, no harm.

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