Lions have featured quite a bit on Israellycool during the past week.
We started with the tragic tail tale of Gaza’s Fajr (name of an Iranian missile) and Sejil (name of Hamas’ war campaign against Israel last year), who died ostensibly because Hamas was more concerned with using them for propaganda than for their welfare.
We then met Salam, an African lion transformed into a Zionist Tree-Climbing Lion of Death.TM
That feelgood story was immediately followed by a tragic one, this time concerning a lion in Syria who was slaughtered, much like the 100,000 or so Syrians during their ongoing civil war.
Perhaps feeling a little left out, we then had a commenter – albeit an obnoxious one – comment on an old lion-related post.
Now in our latest lion-themed post of the week, we learn that lions have become quite the status symbol in some Arab countries.
Take a look at the hottest new status symbol among wealthy Middle Eastern men.
Gone are the exotic cars, only to be replaced by a new trend that sees well-off young men posing with their pet lions.
Take Humaid AlBuQaish, for example.
AlBuQaish has become a cult figure on Instagram, clocking up more than 250,000 hits, thanks to regular uploads of photos showing himself and his big cats.
The snap-happy AlBuQaish has a penchant for posting shots of himself posing with his 180kg lions alongside his Mercedes or Lamborghini.
Other photos show AlBuQaish lounging with his ‘pets’ as they devour their prey during feeding time.
Owning a big cat is big business in the Gulf, with a rare white lion selling for around $50,000.
What AlBuQaish does for a living or how he managed to accumulate his wealth is not known.
Jasim Ali from the Ras Al Khaimah Wildlife Park in the United Arab Emirates explained to CNN the logic behind the desire to acquire a big cat: “If someone buys a very expensive animal, he is boasting that he has enough money to get anything he wants.
“If he has tamed a wild animal like a lion, he is trying to show off that he is brave. But this is not courage; this is animal rights abuse.”
In 2010 over 200 illegal animals were confiscated in the United Arab Emirates, with white lions, tigers, panthers and cheetahs among those taken into custody.
More here.
Looks like lions are the new “skyscraper.”
Update: I know this involves a tiger, but the story reminded me of this:
[language and adult theme warning]http://youtu.be/vL6kLw2U5Pg
