Surely this is unethical. Knowing that there is a high change for the shark to die in captivity means that you should stop? It's clearly motivated by $$$

It's his smiling eyes that captivate me [swoon]

Heh, that's my local zoo (Chiba Zoological Park). They just put the lion exhibit in like two months ago. It's so new that when I just checked their web page just now I noticed they haven't updated the park map with the location of the lion exhibit yet, although there is an announcement about the lions on the front page.

When we went on the opening week, the lions didn't seem to give a fuck about anything despite there being lots of kids pressed up against the glass. I figured they were too tired from having been transferred from the zoos that donated them (they were both born and raised in captivity).

I just translated the lyrics. Damn, I forgot how difficult translating poetry can be. It took me quite some time. I tried to translate it as closely to the German meaning as possible, while still upholding or at least emulating some aspects of the poetic style of the original.

"Spring Greeting

1. (intro)
One beautiful spring day
A spring greeting – a little flower
Lay dying by the wayside

The poor thing had been plucked
Its existence doomed – Thrown away
To feed Death alone

2.
As I bowed down
To eye this misery
That bespoke brutal workings
Suggesting no remorse
A word escaped my throat
– Murder!

For this flower, so fragile
Was appallingly, purposely plucked
By the wayside, I assume
In a rush of ecstasy, absent-mindedly,
Someone bowed down
And bemused, elated, blushed,
In spring rapture, deeply delighted,
Discovered, clutched and killed it

Chorus:
And I asked myself, who seeks,
Against all grace and goodness,
To take such beauty's life
Executed, slaughtered
So disempowered, off-handedly
This peaceful blossom
So discarded and despised
Oh forbid

3.
The fool, he was so moved
That he had no doubt
His mind was captivated
By its splendor, which he abducted
And unscrupulously corrupted
As he took it – gave himself to it
Only then he became aware - it was dying

And suddenly the realization
Flashed through his mind and all too honestly
Comprehension became confession
Into his heart, painfully,
His misdeed crept, all too gravely

Chorus:
And he asked himself, who seeks,
Against all grace and goodness,
To take such beauty's life
Executed, slaughtered
So disempowered, off-handedly
This peaceful blossom
So discarded and despised
Oh forbid

4. (Bridge)
Shocked by his fallibility
He threw the beauty into the sand
Irritated by his misdeed
He retreated from his disgrace
‘Though he had desired the little flower,
Loved, adored, admired it,
He had not respected it
And this splendor by the wayside
Is now concluded and passed

Chorus:
And he asked himself, who seeks,
Against all grace and goodness,
To take such beauty's life
Executed, slaughtered
So disempowered, off-handedly
This peaceful blossom
So discarded and despised
Oh forbid

And he asked himself, who seeks,
Against all grace and goodness,
To take such beauty's life
Executed, slaughtered
So disempowered, off-handedly
This peaceful blossom
So discarded and despised
Man forbid

5. (outro)
One beautiful spring day
A spring greeting – a little flower
Lay dying by the wayside

Bereaved of the beautiful springtime
Of existence – doomed – of lust itself
A victim of vain humanity

It was me. It was me. I'm sorry.
It was me. It was me. Now I'm sorry."

Anyone else captivated by the shopping bag?

Do they need their teeth brushed in captivity because they normally keep them clean by flossing with the clothes of people they eat?

Your video, Inky the Octopus Escapes Captivity Like a Pro, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

So people ought to keep cows, evolutionary monuments to human carnivory and lacto-parasitism, in a state of captivity and dependence, purely for their amusement?

Vegans are astonishing.

Not really though, there are enough people who are fond of cows that we would no doubt keep them alive as pets and zoo animals. Like all the other animals that are extinct in the wild but not in captivity.

Their numbers would certainly dwindle, but I think there's no suffering in not having been born. Besides, if you're concerned about biodiversity the number of species eradicated by expanding pasture land has got to be in the 1,000s, especially in places like rainforests.

You're right, they often get either just the flavor or just the texture, but not often both at the same when it comes to mock foods. Although it seems like every other week a new company is coming up with products that get closer and closer to real thing. Gardein "chicken" tenders for example. I actually find they taste better than the real ones(yeah I didn't think it was possible for chicken to taste any better either!) And hey no cholesterol

I don't see it as a sacrifice, not when I'm the one reaping all of the benefits. The knowledge that I haven't doomed a sweet piggy like the one in the video to stand in a 2x3 foot cage until it collapses is more satisfying than the flavor of the best bacon . Not to mention health benefits, environmental (and some asshat farmer gets less money too is pretty satisfying too haha)

Lions in a cage most certainly wouldn't eat you. They would attack you and kill you out of fear and protection of their territory, perhaps even out of the fun of it, being feline. Assuming they were well fed of course which most animals in captivity are. But they would not bother wasting the energy to eat you when they are fed much tastier and healthier food.
There are also plenty of documented cases were a lions maternal instincts take over and they protect an infant animal. such as this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRUXU172vGg (there is a similar few where leopards save monkeys by returning them to trees etc)
It goes to show that even carnivores with strong killer instincts are able to see compassion, and that they only kill out of necessity to survive. When survival isn't factor anymore the rules are completely different.

When I read Guns Germs and Steel I was surprised to learn that cheetahs might have almost trumped dogs as pets and hunting companions. Alas, their mating habits made breeding in captivity impossible.

There's something about this that's absolutely captivating. I love how much he's enjoying it!

Aww... it's so cute how some intelligent animals avoid going batshit insane in captivity!

At least it's a lucky one in captivity and not one of the starving, emaciated polar bears with its bones showing.