WILD ANIMALS THAT ARE LEGAL TO KEEP AS PETS BUT SHOULDN'T BE
Added on: 3rd Nov 2016
SERVALS
If you’re familiar with zoology or wild animals you may have
heard of the serval cat. They look similar to a leopard and
are really wild. Servals can be affectionate at times and are
not normally aggressive toward humans, but remember
that this is still a wild animal, which means that it has
basic, inherent instincts it needs to fulfil.
CHIMPANZEES
Chimpanzees, which possess incredible strength, are considered
some of the most dangerous pets. Chimps have very
complex cognition and it can be difficult or impossible to
know what’s going on in their minds or how they’ll react
to new situations.
PYTHONS
Pythons are the most widely owned snakes in North America.
Though they don’t usually consider a human being as food,
there have been many cases in which pythons killed humans
(usually children). The most recent tragedy occurred in
New Brunswick, Canada on August 5, 2013. An African
rock python killed two brothers, ages four and six, who were
visiting their friend, whose father owned a pet shop below
the apartment where they were staying.
BOBCATS
It’s true that you can legally domesticate a bobcat, although I
am not quite sure who would really want to do so. Bobcats
might be extremely beautiful, but at the same time they are as
wild as it gets and even though you won’t be in danger of
being eaten alive, they can severely hurt you during a
game or confrontation.
ALLIGATORS
Do we really need to explain why it’s a bad idea to keep one
as a pet? Weighing as much as 1000 lbs and sporting one
of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom, the alligator
is a wild animal that can eat just about anything, including
humans (though to be fair, we are not regularly part of
their diet…thank goodness).
WOLVES
Wolves are sometimes kept as pets, and on rare occasions,
as working animals. Although closely related to
domesticated dogs, wolves do not show the same loyalty
or “friendliness” and are significantly harder to train.
If they get too hungry they might attack you, because
it’s what wolves normally do.
TIGERS
Can you legally own a tiger? Even if your name isn’t Mike Tyson?
Well, yes, but other than being extremely dangerous it’s also
extremely expensive to own. Not to mention that wild tiger
numbers have dropped to a record low.
ELEPHANTS
To own an elephant as a pet you need to have access to A LOT
of land. Elephants need space to roam and tons of food
(they can put away anywhere between 200 – 600lbs of food
per day!). Also being such a large animal, they can be a huge
problem if they were to get spooked or agitated in some way.
In fact, according to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF),
up to 300 people are killed annually by human-elephant conflicts.
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