"Heart of a Lioness" Transcript, continued

lukeofiowa: What do you think are the implications of this event?

Saba Douglas-Hamilton: Behaviorial scientists are just now beginning to explore into the realms of animal emotion and consciousness. It is a very exciting new area, but science requires rigorous testing before anything is proven. I believe that it is just a matter of time before we accept the fact that animals feel deeply in a way similar to ourselves and have high levels of sentience, and perhaps high level consciousness.

sadnss: What can we do to help Kamunyak?

Saba Douglas-Hamilton: Kamunyak is a wild lion and nature must run its course. What is important about this story is in the way it makes us question the impact human beings have on the natural world. We aren't always conscious of what we do. I am most intrigued by the question her behavior raises in inverting everything that we know about lions. If it is possible for a predator to adopt its prey, then what else is happening out there? The wilderness is like a handful of sand, with the grains dripping out between our fingers. We have to act now to protect as much of it as we possibly can before it's too late.

heart-of-dearkness: I just wanted to know any information on why you think the lioness did this, and your personal experience.

Saba Douglas-Hamilton: Sorry, I don't have time to go into detail about this now. For more information, have a look at my Web site, www.kamunyak.com.

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