the Scott Stein

We visited the Six Flags drive-through safari yesterday. Despite signs prohibiting it, people had their windows open and were holding out bread and pretzels for camels and giraffes. One giraffe had his entire head inside a car, eating from someone's hand. People were patting their heads and legs as you would with a large dog. This obviously happens every day at the safari, and the animals still seem to be alive, so maybe it isn't a big deal. It's such a widespread practice, the employees must be aware of it. And no one was stopping the people from doing it. People did follow the rules when their own safety was at issue. No one tried to feed the ostriches, who pecked at car windows, and no one--not even the enthusiastic giraffe-patters--was foolish enough to use food to lure animals to the car window in "Bear Country." The black bears roamed free, but the brown grizzlies were kept behind low wire fences.