I worked with big cats at a game farm. There was always chain link fencing between me and them. Had a couple favorites, but I treated them all with respect and never let my guard down. Admittedly, I'm biased against zoos and circuses.

@chalupacabre I hate most zoos - we have a wildlife park near here which rescues animals from apalling conditions around the world and keeps them in large naturalistic enclosures. The young cats I played with had all been rejected by their mothers and hand reared, so relatively safe juveniles - but they could easily kill a human if they so desired - but people like me paid to play and that covered their bills to keep the place going. At about 6 - 8 months the cats would go into a breeding programme and introduced to reserves in their native habitat.

@chalupacabre must have been a great job

@ShadowAmicus best poorly paid job ever.