Belén's first week in New Orleans

In this post I’m not going to talk about my experiences in the city’s downtown, or the craziness at Bourbon Street, or the Creole Tomato Festival or the Maple Leaf or even the Jazz Camp concert (which by the way, was great!) … At first I was going to do so, but not anymore… Today everything changed…

What I really want to tell you about, is more of a paradox… perhaps even an oxymoron… at least for me it is…, because it is a happy sad place… And don’t get me wrong; I really enjoyed my visit there, watching families together enjoying themselves, couples, friends, and even a few foreigners, everyone laughing and really having a good time… but, by being there on my own for five hours, walking upside down, and really observing things, it made me think about a lot of things regarding what we, as humans, are doing to OUR ecosystem.

Maybe by now you already know where I was, or maybe not… well let me tell you, I was at the zoo, and it was really great!! The animals were wonderful, the people taking care of them were really nice, even the ice cream I had was amazingly tasty… As I walked around, watching and learning about these marvelous beings, I got to the Bob Cats’ exhibit, and there was one of them walking in its cage from one side to the other, trying to find a way to go out, a way to escape and be free…  In that precise moment I started to realize how awful it must be to be all day, every day in a cage, which might look really nice and comfortable, but still limits the movement of these beautiful beasts… It doesn’t really matter how narrow or wide the spaces in which they are kept really are, the truth is the same: they are locked; they cannot leave, EVER…

And then, it hit me, what if they were actually able to leave? What would they do in the wild? Would they be able to live there? … And for some of them, is there really a place for them to go to? I don’t think so… Most species are endangered, not only because of hunting but also because their ecosystems were destroyed by humans… global warming, the green house effect, and all of those topics that at the moment might sound “trendy”, for these animals are a reality, they are dying in the wild, they are dying at home…, and not because of natural causes…

After a few moments watching the Bob Cat, resignation and a feeling of sad happiness came to me, as I realized that maybe zoos are the last chance for animals to survive…  it’s not the best or the most adequate environment, but they have adapted to living there, and at least they are alive… With a sigh, I carried on with my visit, and all I could think about was the irony of the situation… the only thing that might save wild animals are cages…