This morning I read a children’s book that shocked me and made me just shake my head–The Caiman by Maria Eugenia Manrique (2019, Amazon Crossing Kids), which you can learn more about under the Recommended Reads section of the blog. It is the surprising non-fiction story of a Venezuelan man, Jose Faoro, who raised and lived with a pet caiman. And while I thoroughly enjoyed the book, (It had me on the edge of my seat.) it also bothered me deeply.
So… many people keep exotic animals as pets, including dangerous apex predators. Don’t ask me why, but they do. What shocked me about this story was the access children had to get up close and personal with the caiman then live to tell about it. Perhaps even more alarming are all the adults who seemed to show little concern for these encounters. The way the story is written you would think there was never any concern over the caiman-meets-child scenario. Apparently frequent handling and keeping your caiman well-fed makes it less of a threat to others.
I wasn’t there. I don’t know how controlled these encounters were. And it certainly wasn’t the first time people have done amazingly risky things, so I won’t condemn those who participated in it. When I was a child, I’m pretty certain my brothers and I would have wanted to see, even touch a caiman. And yes, my parents would have taken us to do so. In fact, I was taken to Florida to see my grandparents on my first birthday, and on that trip my family took me to visit an alligator farm where we watched a man wrestle an alligator. Just what every one year old needs to see. Right?
I must also reflect a bit on my life as a parent and ask, have I ever exposed my own child to danger? Well, yes; indeed, I have. There was a trip to Chesapeake Bay. My daughter was only three. We played in the sand, but she was unsure about the water. I said, “You’ll be okay, Mommy’s got you.” I picked her up and we waded out into the water – hip high. I remember the wind was blowing quite a bit and I looked up to see my husband yelling and motioning with some urgency for me to come back in. I turned to look behind me and there, floating toward us, was a small raft of jellyfish. I moved as quickly as I could, struggling to walk fast in the pulling water. Somehow, we made it and we didn’t go back into the water. I had risked much, naively thinking I had her in my arms, so we were safe. Fortunately, for us, nothing happened, but minutes might have changed the outcome.
This happens repeatedly in our world. Curiosity and perhaps too much trust or confidence make us throw caution to the wind. Somehow, we think we are untouchable like cartoon characters that can jump off cliffs and bounce once they hit the bottom of the canyon. Most of the time, people are lucky and the worst doesn’t happen. But then there are those times when they do, like the Tilikum incident at Sea World, Orlando (2010), the Lane Graves alligator attack at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridan Resort and Spa (2016), The Harambe Gorilla incident at the Cincinnati Zoo (2016), and the countless bison incidents at Yellowstone that never seem to stop.
My advice to everyone is stop thinking things can’t happen to you. Teach your children to use greater caution and stop putting them into situations where they can easily become victims. It’s great to be amused about such risks after the fact, but honestly… let’s not go there again. Fortunately for Faoro and his fans, his caiman never hurt a soul.
Little Seeds Read 