Valley of Smoke

Valley of Smoke


006 Our Closest Neighbors, Part 2

January 23, 2016

By the late 19th Century, just when there aren't many wild predators left, we turn away from rural living. The deer are happy about this, and reproduce accordingly. And strangely enough (or perhaps, obviously), we then proceed to take animal tourism to a new level, being especially fond of paying money to see large carnivores from other places, both on film and in person. The boom-boom years of the jungle film mean Southern California is, for a time, a mecca for animal tourist attractions. But things don't go well, especially once Walt Disney hits the scene.