The Hound is the little brother... it’s not Cersei’s little brother or son... but rather one of the definitive sibling rivalries of the series (Mountain vs. The Hound).

Ah ha! There we go... I bet you’re right, I bet the Dothraki widows have some sort of secret knowledge or power that they’ve been guarding, probably for Dany...

I think Dany will somehow convince the Dothraki hoard to follow her with her dragons (something about dragons eating horses, blah blah blah) and she’ll either go back to Mereen or on to Westeros with the hoard backing her.

But they won’t go over water... drat.

Fair enough! You’re right my comment was off the cuff and greatly oversimplifying bear behavior. And I agree the main problem with animals in captivity is boredom and it’s difficult to offer as much enrichment in captivity as a natural environment. I do think supporting zoos could mitigate this problem by providing…

Hahaha! :) I’m honored to have been involved in acknowleding you being right for the first time around here. ;)

I wonder how many fucks she gives that you’re not into her?

Oh I know! ;)

Yes. And why not both? I don’t actually know if any zoos do this, but it seems like they should put some of their profits/efforts towards both preserving natural habitats as well as enriching the environments of their captive animals to keep them happier and healthier.

By the way... what else do you think animals do in…

You’re right! I don’t know that the other commenter doesn’t donate to conservation and/or environmentalist groups, and in fact reggieknows let me know she does do that and knows more about it than me so I defer to her knowledge.

I also don’t see why people can’t support other conservation/environmentalist groups they…

The reason I speak up in these cases is because I often see self-proclaimed animal lovers speaking more from emotion (“cages are bad!”) than any sort of nuanced understanding of the animal’s needs or the factors involved in actually caring for them and conservation in general. And it really bothers me, because often…

I’m on the side of the animals. Maybe I need more education and knowledge to understand better how to serve the animals, but ultimately that’s always the side I’m always trying to be on.

Regarding SeaWorld. On a general philosophical level, I would argue that if humans can shape our environment to suit us and keep…

Good for you! So you’re way ahead of me and know way more than me and my casual Googling, and I defer to your expertise and efforts. I would love to hear more about those better and more successful options, and also the cons of AZA, or just some links pointing me in the right direction, since it’s naturally not your…

I agree, zoos should be taken on a case by case basis. That’s terrible about the Ontario zoo owner! Regardless of my general opinion of zoos, naturally they still need to be examined and held up to standards to ensure they’re treating all the animals as humanely as possible, etc. I’m sorry that my reply to you put a…

Conspiracy theories always overestimate the intelligence and competence of the conspirator. ;)

What’s with Taylor’s jacket? Looks like there’s a big hump under that patch. Is it a built in backpack or something? Solar cell phone charger? MUST KNOW.

But if you follow that line of thought to its logical conclusion, that means any keepers caring for big cats will always be somewhat separated from those animals socially and will have less influence over the animals which could impact caring for them. In fact, this is where elephant handling is going- it’s been…

“While success stories abound, most wildlife biologists consider SSP programs to be works in progress. AZA zoos have been instrumental, for instance, in establishing a stable population of bongos, a threatened forest antelope native to Africa, through captive breeding programs under the SSP program. Many of these…

Many zoos participate in breeding programs that are all about maintaining diverse species genetic lines so they can reintroduce those genetic lines back into the wild if that species is endangered. Managing these lines is necessary to avoid inbreeding.

Many zoos have studies trying to asses this: how happy the animals are, and what they can do to enrich their lives while in captivity. I interned for the Baltimore Aquarium seal department in high school. All of their seals were rescues that had been rehabilitated but could not be released back into the wild for…

You don’t think there are hospitals that operate for profit while exploiting humans while also engaging in some humanitarian efforts with the profits? Uhhhhh... sounds like the entire US healthcare industry to me...

If you really care about animals then put your money where your mouth is and donate to a conservation program that meets your standards instead of saying “fuck zoos”. You’ll actually help animals that way instead of undermining the good organizations that already are trying to help animals. Hint: You're on the same…