Not Calvin, DEFINITELY NOT Hobbes...

Admittedly much after the fact, I'm placing my 2 cents worth here regarding the incident at the Calgary Zoo early Monday morning. These are pictures I had taken of Vitali during a (legal) visit early in July. Now, would you consider getting into the personal space of this beautifully fierce creature a good idea? Personally, I preferred to get up-close-and-personal using my 300 mm telezoom. But that's just me.

Apparently, such cogent thoughts did not enter the (likely) illicitly lubricated brains of the two wannabe kitty-huggers scaling the perimeter fences.

In an interesting note, it was revealed earlier Thursday that the "leader", and most seriously injured of the two, has a common-law relationship with the security guard on duty that came to his rescue. It appears she was not complicit, but probably left wondering about her rather poor judgement in men.

That said, I hope the young man recovers fully, and they are both able to face the trespassing charges against them. May I propose the judge consider the punishment to be a 3 hour lecture from leathery animal do-gooder Bob Barker (no PETA babes need apply).

One of the best comments about this incident came from a listener on CBC Radio's Homestretch: "Too many idiots, too few tigers."