Saturday 11 July 2020

Maybe The Female Of The Species Is More At Risk Than The Male?

Shocked Zoo Zurich visitors have witnessed a woman being attacked and mauled to death by a Siberian tiger.
Swiss authorities are investigating why the zookeeper and the tiger were inside the enclosure at the same time.
Another zookeeper death, and it struck me that all of the last ones I can remember were women.

Rosa King, Stacey Konwiser, Samantha Kudeweh, unknown Spanish keeperKristen Hayden-Ortega - all women. All killed by tigers.

The rare exception that I could find being Akira Furusho.

A statistical blip, or is there something more to it?

12 comments:

Ed P said...

I suppose it's sexist to suggest the risk-taking could be a "women & cats" thing?

But they're just big cuddly versions of Mr Tiddles at home...

Barman said...

Perhaps they taste better...?

Anonymous said...

I think that many men have a horror of being eaten by a big ginger pussy with sharp teeth, but women don't have that phobia!

Sobers said...

I'd guess that there's more women working with animals in zoos than men, on the basis that Veterinary Colleges are 80-90% female now. So statistically one would think there should be more accidents involving women than men. Whether the seemingly extreme ratio mentioned is down to some more basic difference between the sexes is another issue. One could argue that men, being more natural risk takers are therefore better at assessing risk, and thus more likely to keep out of harms way. Or perhaps that women are good at following rules, so will always assume the rules have been followed and not take extra precautions - if the rules say that a certain door should always be closed they won't double check themselves, they'll rely on others having complied.

Stonyground said...

Being an engineer I have done a lot of jobs that had the potential for death or serious injury. During my entire working life I have never become careless about such matters. If I was working in a tiger enclosure I would certainly be making sure that all relevent gates and fences had been checked more than once.

Unknown said...

Hi ed.
I hope you are ok and everything is hunkydory.
I know Boris means well but I am a bit bothered about this compulsory mask thing. Being deaf myself I am finding it extremely hard communicating to people wearing masks and also when I wear one it interferes with my hearing aids due to having to hook it onto my ears. I do understand the importance of not spreading the virus, yet are children expected to wear one too? What about very small children? I think boris should 'advise' people to wear one in shops but not make it compulsory. There is also the matter of where to buy one and considering how the profiteers are out in force, can people afford them? I don't want to be heckled when I am out doing my shopping for not wearing one and it also seems so draconian to order people to wear one when we have been nearly 4 months without them. I agree to wearing them on public transport but shops? No. Providing everyone keeps their distance as they have been doing we should be fine.
Anyway, I will leave it to you. Jx
Ps. I always knew you were a secret rock star. People fainting in your presence. You will have groupies throwing their knickers at you next. Much love.

Umbongo said...

It's obviously sexism: the predictable result of (white) male senior management applying their privilege at the zoos in question. JuliaM I'm surprised you didn't recognise this before posting!

selsey.steve said...

Let's go back to when humanoids were hunter-gatherers. The males were well aware of the dangers posed by large carnivores such as thylacosmilus (!). They were well-aware of the jaws that bite, the claws that catch. It was not the Jabberwock they feared, it was the real hunter-killer. The female humanoid did not develop this basic fear and, to this day, does not possess it. Hence, this lack of the innate fear of big toothy cats leads to the demise of said humanoid females when in too-close contact with said toothy felines.

Mark Wadsworth said...

"authorities are investigating why the zookeeper and the tiger were inside the enclosure at the same time."

I've got a good guess as to why the tiger was in there.

Unknown said...

Thank you. X

Northish said...

You can add Sarah McClay, who was tragically killed by a tiger at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in 2013. The Zoo was fined between £255,000 and £450,000 for failing to ensure the safety of its workers.

JuliaM said...

"Perhaps they taste better...?"

Less fat...? ;)

"I'd guess that there's more women working with animals in zoos than men, on the basis that Veterinary Colleges are 80-90% female now."

Hmm, I never thought of that as a possibility, assuming it to be quite a manual-labour intensive occupation.

"If I was working in a tiger enclosure I would certainly be making sure that all relevent gates and fences had been checked more than once."

Me too! Some people just seem to be prone to complacency, though. Like the cop who left his bullets on the roof of his car last week, closing down the A13 for 11 hours!

"The female humanoid did not develop this basic fear and, to this day, does not possess it. Hence, this lack of the innate fear of big toothy cats..."

Interesting theory!

"I've got a good guess as to why the tiger was in there."

*chuckles*

"You can add Sarah McClay..."

Ooh, I missed her! Clearly didn't go far enough back.