Jaguar Caged

Just finished looking at a slide show about two jaguars
from my country of origin...Guyana...that were
captured and taken to a zoo in Jacksonville...Florida.
It was great to see pictures from the deep country in
Guyana...however...the old subject of wild animals
held in captivity...to be viewed by people of the more
affluent countries of the world...has always given me
pause. The question may be asked...about how else
most of us city dwellers would be likely to come close
up to one of the magnificent wild creatures of the world...if it were not for the ones we see in zoos. There
are probably other arguments for having creatures in
captivity for us to look upon. I don't think any of them
...however..can outweigh...the contradiction of having
a "wild" animal being shown off in a captive situation.
For me...a jaguar in captivity...strikes close to home...
it's hard for me...coming from the land of jaguars..one of the most royal...beautiful...powerful...and graceful creatures of Earth...and over the years... having it become my totemic wild creature...to see a caged creature instead. The
"essence of jaguar"...is in it's freedom and mystery. Removed from where it belongs
jaguar becomes a ghostly reminder...of what we have lost from our beautiful Earth...
and are still losing..........................Quester.