I like to listen to the radio at night; there's something soothing about the companionship of bodiless voices when I'm trying to drift to sleep. We alternate our listening choices between two distinct destinations: ESPN and NPR. I enjoy them both equally.
Today in the early twilight of morning, I woke up and checked the clock. It was only 4:20. Sweet luxury; I had another 40 minutes to loll about in bed. This morning, the radio was tuned to NPR. Traditionally in the pre-dawn hours, NPR will broadcast the top stories live from the BBC at the top of the hour. As I listened to the British accounting of the U.S. Federal Government bailout and the views of the previous evening's VP debate, a story was introduced that jolted me from bed. The details horrified me utterly.
When I got to work, I read the complete story online on the BBC Asia-Pacific site. It was chilling. Here it is:
Boy Fed Zoo Reptiles to Crocodile
A seven-year-old boy has been filmed going on the rampage at a popular zoo in Australia, killing rare reptiles and feeding live ones to a crocodile.
Footage from the security cameras at Alice Springs Reptile Centre caught the child smiling as he killed a total of 13 animals.
During his 30-minute spree, he was seen hurling the animals over the security fence into the crocodile enclosure.
Zoo officials described the boy's actions as "unbelievable".
They are considering suing the parents as the boy is too young to be prosecuted.
The attack happened on Wednesday morning after the boy entered the zoo by jumping over the security fence and evading sensor alarms.
Over the next half hour, he bludgeoned some of the animals to death with stones and hurled others over the two fences surrounding the crocodile enclosure.
At one point, he tried scaling the outer enclosure himself to get to "Terry", the 11ft (3.3m) saltwater crocodile.
A turtle, four Western blue-tongued lizards, two bearded dragons, two thorny devil lizards and the zoo's 20-year-old goanna were among those killed.
Zoo director Rex Neindorf said many of the animals were rare or mature and would be difficult to replace.
"The fact a seven-year-old can wreak so much havoc in such a short time, it's unbelievable," he told Reuters news agency.
Mr Neindorf said the boy had "clammed up" when questioned by police.
As children under the age of 10 cannot be held accountable for their actions in the Northern Territory, the zoo would be seeking to take action against the parents.
"We'll be looking at suing the parents, who were supposedly in control of him at the time," he said.
Sue the parents? Seriously? Why don't you put the devious little fucker in the crocodile enclosure as punishment? I would hope Terry would render the same treatment on this child as these poor helpless creatures suffered when flung into the pit.
Listen, I adore and cherish children but anyone who took psychology 1A in a college prep class would easily categorize the cruelty exhibited in this ruthless action as the classic hallmarks of a serial killer. The little dude fits the profile.
I don't mean to overreact, but a life is a life. Exhibitions of blatant cruelty is inexplicable and a sure sign of a troubled psyche. I hope his parents have the good sense to rehabilitate this boy before he is lost forever. Perhaps he already is.
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4 comments:
I, too, read this story and hurried home faster than usual after work. And when getting there, I bolted through the door to hug my always waiting chihuahua. Once again, my feelings about children were confirmed....that I can only appreciate them when they are served with a side of rice pilaf.
Where were his parents when he was doing this? That is the real question.
Looking at my own 5 year old son (sans the side of rice pilaf, but with 1/4 carton of blueberry yogurt on his face) there are so many questions unanswered. I'm with Carolyn, where were this kids parents? The majority of children adore animals and wouldn't intentionally hurt one, is this kid of "normal" intelligence? How in the sam hell was this kid savy enough to avoid alarm detectors? How is it that he could have such easy access to these animals? Give me a minute to calm down and I betcha I could come up with an idea about an appropriate punishment.
Absolutely correct, Carolyn and Mary--where were the parents of a *hello* seven year old? I know my damnation of this child was harsh, but I will say that I think this behavior is an exception and certainly not the rule. Nearly every child I've ever known in my life clearly adore animals and respect them with affection. I just found this story so affecting on so many levels; I now think the parents should be punished as well.
Christo, you answer made me laugh, of course. I hope your sweet Misty was home safe and intact.
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