Caged
I went to the zoo last week1, and found that watching the humans watching the animals was almost as interesting (and upsetting) as watching the animals themselves. They have a snow leopard, and as I approached the enclosure, I noticed a young man in his late teens, with an emo-ish air about him. He was standing in front of the glass viewing window, palm pressed to the glass, intently watching the snow leopard following its endless track around the cage. He was looking at the cat with such deep sympathy and sorrow that my heart went out to them both. He saw me, gave me a brief, hunted look and went back to his vigil.
Passing the enclosure later in the day, I saw the same chap. He was now sitting on the ground, leaning against the cage — still looking in. In the week since going to the zoo, I’ve thought about Snow Leopard Man a few times, and hoped that he manages to work through his sadness somehow.
1 For work purposes, actually, which made a nice change of pace and scenery. ↑
1
Apropos of nothing to do with the zoological gardens, and being familiar with at least one aspect of your musical taste, set your PVR for next Tuesday at 1:15PM, at which time The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will be available for your delight and delectation....................
by Jonathan Briggs @ 19/06/2008 8:13 pm • Permalink •
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Did I for get to say "Radio 4"?
by Jonathan Briggs @ 19/06/2008 8:14 pm • Permalink •
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I find zoos pretty depressing (though a great place to sketch).
BTW I've been meaning to tell you as someone who'd appreciate this of something that qualifies for the "worst day of a gal's life" -- a USGS surveyer last week was at Camp Pendleton in Southern California and heard a low hiss. Looked up; a mountain lion with flattened ears was getting ready to charge. It did. She stepped back onto a rattlesnake which promptly bit her. (I assume the cat vanished at the first sign of the snake.) She's okay, but what do you suppose the odds are of this??
by Pica @ 20/06/2008 1:42 pm • Permalink •
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Jonathan Briggs: Yes, I'd already noted that, and eyeTV is set up to record it.
Pica: Wow. That is quite a lot of bad luck at once. It's the kind of thing that would happen to me, although I'd probably be standing there thinking, "Wow! A mountain lion", and forget to run. Not because of any bravery, but because the nature geek in me would be riveted by seeing a mountain lion in the wild.
by bsag @ 22/06/2008 3:18 pm • Permalink •
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I wish we had more zoos around where I live, the closest one is about 40 miles away and the last time I actually went to one must have been over 4 years ago.. blimey!
When I was little I used to go ever 2-3 months; nice to see the animals even though they're in captivity.
by Emo @ 22/06/2008 3:22 pm • Permalink •
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