2008 Woodie Awards
A lion makes a home at a park
By: Anna Mavromati
Issue date: 5/6/04 Section: OP/ED
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Lions, tigers and bears! Oh my!
We should be wary of them, it's true. They are wild animals, but some of them live here and should be treated with respect.
A mountain lion began living in Griffith Park, which is in downtown L.A. There have been sightings of the lion, as well as other evidence found of a lion residing in the park.
The park officials said that they won't capture or kill the lion unless it attacks a park visitor. Although this may not make park visitors feel the most comfortable, the lion should be able to stay.
If it were a nasty venomous snake or a big alligator it would be one thing, but come on, this is a lion we're talking about. Lions are really cool.
OK, visitors should probably use caution when at the park. The park could also use regulations of some sort to help protect its guests. At the same time, it would be very sad if they chose to get rid of a lion.
For one thing, it should be a compliment to the park to have a lion move in. It means that there must be a nice enough environment to provide a good habitat for the lion. Besides, it adds to the park to have wildlife, especially if the wildlife is a big lion.
However, many people may not see it as a great benefit. It could be considered a threat, especially after the mountain lion attacks bikers that occurred in Orange County earlier this year.
But the state of California has only had 14 mountain lion attacks on humans since 1890; so although it has happened before, it's not as if the incident happens daily.
As cities and the human population expand, people can't expect all other life on earth to die or to move away from them.
Besides, it's also good that people know where a lion lives, so that they can exercise caution when at the park or in other areas, if they are afraid of lions. There are even big yellow signs at the park warning people of the lions and snakes that live in the area.
The police lieutenant there said the last time a lion lived at the park it ended up being the victim. The lion in the late 1990s died after being hit by a car. It's too bad we can't put up big yellow signs to warn the lions of the cars and people.
We should be wary of them, it's true. They are wild animals, but some of them live here and should be treated with respect.
A mountain lion began living in Griffith Park, which is in downtown L.A. There have been sightings of the lion, as well as other evidence found of a lion residing in the park.
The park officials said that they won't capture or kill the lion unless it attacks a park visitor. Although this may not make park visitors feel the most comfortable, the lion should be able to stay.
If it were a nasty venomous snake or a big alligator it would be one thing, but come on, this is a lion we're talking about. Lions are really cool.
OK, visitors should probably use caution when at the park. The park could also use regulations of some sort to help protect its guests. At the same time, it would be very sad if they chose to get rid of a lion.
For one thing, it should be a compliment to the park to have a lion move in. It means that there must be a nice enough environment to provide a good habitat for the lion. Besides, it adds to the park to have wildlife, especially if the wildlife is a big lion.
However, many people may not see it as a great benefit. It could be considered a threat, especially after the mountain lion attacks bikers that occurred in Orange County earlier this year.
But the state of California has only had 14 mountain lion attacks on humans since 1890; so although it has happened before, it's not as if the incident happens daily.
As cities and the human population expand, people can't expect all other life on earth to die or to move away from them.
Besides, it's also good that people know where a lion lives, so that they can exercise caution when at the park or in other areas, if they are afraid of lions. There are even big yellow signs at the park warning people of the lions and snakes that live in the area.
The police lieutenant there said the last time a lion lived at the park it ended up being the victim. The lion in the late 1990s died after being hit by a car. It's too bad we can't put up big yellow signs to warn the lions of the cars and people.