Interesting. There can be a lot of philosophical debate here. The word "domain" is so closely related to "dominion" that I can't resist offering an opinion: Animals have domains which I recognize, but they all don't seem to recognize that my domain can overlap or fully encompass theirs if I so desire. This can have negative consequences for them if they are small, negative ones for me if they are big and fangy, or even negative consequences on the big & fangy ones if I am sufficiently armed (I do my best). Provocation, on the other hand, is a different story. Domain or no, some people seem to be asking for it. While I feel for their families, that "bear expert" and his girlfriend who were recently eaten provide examples of unnecessary, arrogant, and disrespectful behavior toward animals. The tiger trainer in Vegas who was recently mauled (I think still in a coma) is another, and the man last seen chasing down Killer Whales in his kayak (See "Deep Trouble") was also asking for trouble. (On the last example only those Orca will ever know for sure, but my innate paranoia tells me that they are smart enough to hide the evidence when they feel killing a human is justifiable) On the other hand, I do not feel that justifiable "provocation" includes just being in what the animal perceives as his domain. To fully accept that notion has far reaching consequences that would change each of our lives in a very negative way. If any have doubts about that, just tell me where you live, and with a little research I'll tell you which species would have a "right" to remove you from their domain by force if necessary. In the discussion about Polar Bears, no one (including me) seemed to feel fully confident about a gun being able to protect them 100% of the time from ending up on the menu. So, at the end of the day, philosophy and opinions aside, whoever has the biggest fangs or gun on a particular day is the one who's opinion counts the most. Steve Brown -----Original Message----- ....... Interestingly, one of the ER hospitals in California had a flow chart check box for animal bites, etc. It started out with "provoked" and "unprovoked." Once the emergency room physicians checks off "provoked", the next option asks whether the patient entered, or did not enter, the animal's domain. Thought that was interesting, especially as the provoked section did not include the domain option. Doug Lloyd Victoria BC *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Nov 16 2003 - 18:14:40 PST
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