Her specific statement about the domestic arrangement — “we were stupid beyond belief” — has become the most cited characterization of the LIFE photographs and the household they document. It is not a casual remark made once and taken out of context; it is the consistent position she has maintained across multiple interviews and public appearances, accompanied by specific statements about what makes the animals dangerous: “these animals are so fast, and if they decide to go after you, nothing but a bullet to the brain will stop them.”
Her characterization of the animals’ nature has been pointed: she has described them as having “no conscience or remorse genes,” as being animals who “will kill you for their dinner.” These are not the statements of someone who has concluded that the arrangement was fine and that she was wrong to worry. They are the statements of someone who has arrived at a specific understanding of the animal’s nature — an understanding that she did not have, or did not fully act on, in the early 1970s — and who is applying that understanding retrospectively to the photographs that document what she was doing then.
The retroactive assessment is not a rejection of the animals or of the care she has spent decades providing for them. The Shambala Preserve continues to operate. The Roar Foundation continues to provide for the animals in residence. Hedren has remained president of the foundation and has continued to speak about big cat welfare and the necessity of the legislation she helped advocate. The retrospective acknowledgment of danger coexists with a continuing commitment to the animals whose captivity she initiated.