Rick Badie's Gwinnett: Fear the wild, even in captivity

The Yellow River Game Ranch has chickens, raccoons, goats, buffalo, pheasants, bears, deer aplenty and a groundhog more famous than Uga the bulldog.

Still, no dogs are allowed on the ranch, states a sign at the cashier’s desk. For safety’s sake, I’d imagine.

On Wednesday, the Badie Tour stopped by the ranch to talk animals with its owner, Art Rilling. His 24-acre spread, off U.S. 78 in Lilburn, is in its 48th year. You don’t survive in the animal tourism business that long without knowing a thing or two about creatures, safety and animal-rights activists.

“We are as unpopular with the animal-rights people as you can imagine,” Rilling said. “What they don’t know is that a whole lot of these animals would be dead if we didn’t have them here.”

Last week, a fatal killer whale incident took place at SeaWorld in Orlando. Tilikum, a 6-ton killer whale, pulled trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, to her death. The orca suddenly took her long ponytail in his jaws, pulled her under, and drowned her.

This tragedy generated the usual discussion on whether to keep wildlife in theme parks, zoos and ranches. There is something to be said for the role these places play in the preservation, research and education of the animals. But no matter how well their natural habitats are replicated, they’re still artificial environments.

Years ago, I visited SeaWorld in Orlando. The “entertainment” Shamu and his pals provided only left me wet and with a much lighter wallet.

It’s easy to surmise Rilling’s stand on the issue. The ranch is his lifeline, and he believes the operation serves a purpose.

In all honesty, his menagerie is tame, teeming mostly with barnyard stock. People-friendly animals. Pets. Some have abnormalities, which is why they’re at the ranch.

The animals don’t jump through hoops to entertain, either. The closest you may get to that is the annual weather prediction by Gen. Beauregard Lee.

The bears, mountain lion, cougar and bobcat or two at the ranch represent indigenous creatures of Georgia. Some were born on the grounds. Others were taken in from nuts like a man who kept a bear as a pet.

That said, even the ranch’s so-called predatory animals either are accustomed to people or shun them, Rilling said.

“Cougars, bobcats — you never see them if they see you first,” he said. “You won’t get to see them. They streak.”

Fortunately, there’s never been a fatality or incident of errant animal-human interaction at Yellow River. Rilling hopes to keep the streak.

As for the killer whale trainer who lost her life, he had this to say.

“It’s tragic, and that’s the right word for it,” he said. “Usually, when something like this happens, it’s because somebody didn’t do what they were supposed to do.

“The animals may do what they are trained and taught to do, but most of them are bigger and stronger than you are.”