Cruelty on Display: The Dark Side of Wildlife Interaction The recent guilty plea of Tyler Muehl, an 18 year old California man who brutally attacked a sea lion in a viral video, raises disturbing questions about human interaction with wildlife.
On the surface, this incident appears to be a straightforward case of animal cruelty – but it reveals a complex array of behaviors and attitudes that warrant scrutiny.
Muehl's actions were not thoughtless; they were informed by a sense of bravado and aggression that is common in our culture.