Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tryburn/ / CC BY 2.0

I’ve never seen a bear on ice skates before, but the thought of an ice-skating bear looks pretty hilarious. Imagine all the trouble you would have to go through to get the bear in skates, let alone teaching it how to use them. This story, however, is not as amusing as the thought I had in mind. And it’s definitely not your typical payday loan story.

Bear Attacks and Kills a Circus Director

In Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, a circus bear on skates killed one person and injured another, according to CNN. Dmitri Potapov, a visiting circus director, was killed during rehearsals for an ice-skating show on Thursday. Potapov was dragged across the ice by the neck, nearly severing one of his legs. Another circus employee was injured as he tried to stop the attack. The man suffered bruising to the brain and lacerations to his scalp.

According to the report, it is not clear at this time why the bear attacked Potapov. The 5-year-old bear was later taken down by police officials and examined by experts. The Russian state circus has a long reputation of training bears to do tricks on skates, motorcycles, and even to play sports like hockey. Fatal deaths from bears are unusual. However, this brings back to mind the real danger behind wild animals.

Kelly Ann Walz and her Pet Bear

Let’s consider Kelly Ann Walz for a moment. Kelly had a pet black bear which she kept in a steel and concrete cage near her home in Pennsylvania. A pet bear! That’s enough to leave you in need of a payday loan every so often. One day, however, while cleaning out the animal’s cage, Kelly Ann Walz was attacked by the 350-pound bear. Both the owner and her 350-pound black bear are now dead.

Wild Animals – Born to be Wild

Sure, you can seize them and train them to perform tricks, but how long will it take before their natural instincts kick in? In truth, circus animals are deprived of their basic needs. They want to socialize and roam with their kind, in the wild where they belong. It will only be a matter of time before they break the chains and run.

You know they call them killer whales
But you seem surprised
When it pinned you down to the bottom of the tank
Where you can’t turn around
It took half your leg and both your lungs
- Neko Case, “People Gotta Lot of Nerve”

Ross Township, PA isn’t far north of the “Steel City” of Pittsburgh. It isn’t the “New Frontier.” The vast majority of pet owners there are perfectly content with dogs, cats, fish, gerbils and reptile variants. Black bears are an uncommon pet choice, to say the least. Most people would need quick cash in order to keep up with feedings alone. Yet Kelly Ann Walz kept one in a steel and concrete cage near her residence. Now both owner and her 350-pound black bear are dead (see http://www.mcall.com/news/police/all-a7_5bear.7043692oct05,0,3099677.story).

Kelly Ann Walz Was Mauled While Cleaning the Cage

Walz, 37, was cleaning her “pet” bear’s 15-by-15 foot cage when law enforcement say it “turned on her.” Apparently the cleaning routine was that she would throw a shovelful of dog food to the opposite side of the cage, which distracted the bear and gave Kelly Ann Walz time to clean. This time, it didn’t work. Things can turn on a dime in the blink of an eye.

A Wild Animal Will Not Play Our Game For Long

As these cases always go, the black bear was shot and killed after it turned on Kelly Ann Walz. As if the bear were suddenly tainted in human eyes because it acted instinctually. Yet you can be certain that taking it into captivity and “taming” it had made it impossible to return to the wild. It’s always the prerogative of human beings, isn’t it? They have the ability to obtain quick cash and believe in old books, so they think they have dominion over the animals.

Kelly Ann Walz had Owned the Bear Since 2000

It so happens that she also owned a Bengal tiger and an African lion. All problems just waiting to happen, I guarantee you. If a wild animal is kept in a very well-equipped zoo or wildlife refuge, then perhaps their health, behavioral and psychological needs can be met. But keeping them at a private residence? It’s simply too much to ask of both the person and the animal. Even Siegfried & Roy were unable to escape incident with one of their tigers.

Suppress that “Saving” Impulse

Wild animals cannot be saved by private residents. For whatever good intent she had, Kelly Ann Walz was not saving her black bear, tiger or lion. Regardless of whether they came from the wild or from a zoo, she was not equipped to handle them safely and provide what they needed. Authorities believe the animals were licensed with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, but that doesn’t mean that Kelly Ann Walz was equipped to handle them. She may have needed more quick cash to help. As I see it, such is a failing of the law that her death should have come to pass in this manner.

Ross Township, PA Mourns the Loss of Kelly Ann Walz

As do I. I also mourn the loss of the black bear, which should never have been kept at a private residence in the first place. Hopefully all of her animals will go to a properly equipped zoo or wildlife refuge than can approximate their wild habitat as closely as possible. Quick cash from a lender can only take you so far. Let a good zoo do its work.

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