A red-crowned crane walking down the street? It probably doesn't need to be watched...

In the first few days of 2024, Northeast China has really become popular. The hospitable people of Northeast China have used all kinds of tricks like magic to attract batches of tourists, making this winter lively and bustling, which is really a good thing.

However, amidst the constant bombardment of beautiful scenery and delicious food, some strange news also entered our field of vision. For example, red-crowned cranes were led through the streets :

On January 6, a red-crowned crane appeared on Central Street in Harbin | Weibo video account: @青流视频

In order to allow tourists to hold white foxes , a truckload of Arctic foxes was transported to Erbin:

Provide white foxes for tourists to hug and take photos with, and transport a truckload of white foxes to Harbin | Sina Weibo: @西部决策

There are many comments in the comment section saying "so cute" or "so adorable", but these animal-related news are not fun at all. Although the animals were not asked to jump through fire hoops or bow, these behaviors are essentially animal performances in a broad sense, because they are also designed to cater to human entertainment needs and force animals to behave against their natural nature - this is the typical feature of animal performances.

Animals, especially wild animals, should not be used as "entertainment tools" in any place.

Are these animals not afraid of humans?

No, I'm scared to death!

The news about the red-crowned crane wrote: "This is a domesticated red-crowned crane, which is usually knowledgeable... It walks calmly and does not seem to be afraid of people." However, in fact, it is not just the red-crowned cranes. In these news reports, all the animals showed signs of stress to varying degrees .

The parading red-crowned crane showed signs of shaking its feathers, trying to spread its wings, and retracting its neck , which are reactions they make when they feel threatened or uneasy.

Red-crowned crane retracts its neck｜Weibo video account: @青流视频

Especially the neck-shrinking action, which made me sweat coldly - when a long-necked bird makes this action, if it is further threatened, it is likely to quickly thrust its spear-like beak forward as a defensive attack. Once this happens, an unfortunate tourist may be stabbed with a bloody hole...

A white fox (Arctic fox) being kissed and hugged by people is as cute as a puppy. However, when tourists hold them in their arms, there is always the risk of being bitten .

The hugged Arctic fox has its eyes closed, its ears pressed against its head, and may be hit on the head by the merchant at any time｜TikTok: @爱慈溪

Don't think they are not afraid of people. In fact, in many videos, the white foxes held by tourists are not so "enjoyable". Instead, they close their eyes and put their ears close to their heads . This state is often called "airplane ears", which is exactly the posture that animals will show when they are highly nervous and uneasy. Tourists think they are so cute, but the little foxes are probably cursing at people in their hearts.

There was another news story recently, saying that a llama in a shopping mall was choked by the neck by staff for spitting at tourists frequently. In fact, the llama in this news was also in a state of stress .

People feel uncomfortable when their heads are shaken like this, and the comments are still making jokes: Is the Siberian tiger also interviewed like this... | Weibo video is good: @中国网看点

When animals with the word "camel" in their names, such as alpacas, llamas, and camels, get angry and anxious, they will spit "saliva" at people or animals they consider threatening - using sticky and smelly liquid to deter attackers and buy themselves some space. So, when a llama starts spitting at people, its pressure gauge is already high enough to explode.

How could it be stressful if it was just a touch or a hug?

Many friends may have such questions: The three animals mentioned above seem to be just taken out for a stroll, and at most they are touched and hugged. Would such a common behavior cause them stress or even stress?

This is actually because many behaviors that we think are nothing serious are very uncomfortable experiences for animals .

No matter which angle the video is taken from, you can see that the red-crowned crane's wings are bound by cloth strips throughout the whole process , which is a very uncomfortable and unnatural posture for the bird. In addition, tourists along the way casually reach out to touch its body, wings and even head from all directions, which makes the red-crowned crane feel stressed and produce stressful behavior.

The red-crowned crane has strips of cloth tied around its body, and its wings cannot move. What is the difference between this and humans being tied up and paraded through the streets? | Weibo video account: @青流视频

The white fox's stress is also due to the restriction of its limbs. For animals that walk and run on the ground, their instinctive cognition is that the state of "all four limbs off the ground" is equivalent to "falling from a high altitude" . When being picked up, even experienced cats and dogs will subconsciously tense their bodies, not to mention that the white fox is not a pet and is not often picked up and lifted up. If this is combined with actions such as strong hugs and fur rubbing, which further restrict and infringe on their limbs, the threat felt by the animals will increase exponentially.

If these white foxes were transported in piles over long distances to tourist attractions, the noise, vibration, and crowded environment with no room to move around would increase their stress . It can even be said that it is a miracle that only one case of injury has been reported over such a long time.

Drag the Arctic Fox here for business｜Xiaohongshu: @天天要戴珠

As for the llamas, although their movements are not obviously restricted, they are still in a noisy environment for a long time and have to endure various sudden contacts from tourists, which can also make them irritable.

Can't we also raise them in captivity? No!

Seeing this, some friends may still have questions: Aren’t these animals artificially raised ? Why can’t we pull them out to play with people?

There is a concept that is easily confused here: domestication and taming are two completely different things!

It took humans thousands of years to domesticate animals, repeatedly selecting those with high obedience and low aggressiveness from a large number of individuals of a certain animal.

Under the intervention of artificial selection, animals that have been successfully domesticated by humans have already had great differences from their wild relatives at the genetic level, the most notable of which is their ability to maintain a stable mentality in an environment with louder noises, more complex changes in smell and light. Moreover, they will not only show this high obedience and low aggression to specific objects , so they can live naturally with humans.

Dogs were domesticated from wolves, but this process took thousands of years｜Pixabay

Domestication is only a node in the domestication process . In essence, it only restricts the activities of wild animals to a certain area and provides them with stable food and living conditions, nothing more.

Compared to wild individuals, captive animals are more tolerant of humans around them to a certain extent, but this tolerance is mostly limited to familiar keepers (owners) . In other words, they are just used to keepers around them, and have established a conditioned reflex of "keeper = food source", trusting that keepers will not attack them. This "habit" is limited to a small number of specific objects and is highly exclusive.

After being domesticated, the animals in the zoo can accept the presence of familiar keepers｜Xinhuanet

Therefore, these animals, which are only domesticated but not domesticated , will easily develop stress behavior once they come into contact with tourists and encounter tourists performing behaviors that are different from the norm.

In fact, think about it carefully, even cats and dogs that have been domesticated as pets for thousands of years may panic, get scared, or even attack strangers they have never seen before. And how can we be confident that wild animals, which have only been raised in captivity for only a hundred years, can walk around leisurely and calmly when facing a large number of tourists?

The penguins were asked to carry backpacks and go out to do business, and the crouching action was interpreted as bowing; in fact, when penguins sense danger, they will also lean forward and crouch to the ground｜Sina Weibo: @力志做只熊猫

Although they are not animal performances in the traditional sense, nor are there any intentional harm to animals, the various commercial practices appearing in the news are in fact still contrary to the nature of animals, causing them to be anxious and uneasy; and this stress state may in turn cause harm to tourists .

Using close contact with animals as a means of "hospitality" may be because we subconsciously only regard animals as commodities rather than lives . And promoting this behavior of disrespecting life as a "highlight" is a mistake on top of a mistake.

It is definitely a good thing that tourism is booming and a region is getting national attention and love, but this should not be based on the suffering of animals. If we can show tourists the true beauty and diversity of nature, perhaps we will not let nature down.

Author: Wing Wolf Elang

Editor: Mai Mai