The problem with zoos

I went to the zoo this weekend with my young niece and nephew. We had a great time. The tiger was particularly exciting for everyone since you could get right up to the glass to see him. Like most people, though, I really felt bad for the tiger. He was restricted, gawked at, and basically had little freedom. Our society only puts humans in a similar spot if they've committed a crime. No human would volunteer to live like the tiger. It would be deplorable. But how does the tiger see it?

I read a wonderful book once called 'The Life of Pi.' Among other things, the author makes the point that animals in the zoo are probably content with their lot. He makes his point by asking the following question about people: What if someday people you encountered everyday came and "liberated" you from your home? took you away from your house and your routine and put you in a completely new environment with no resources and no friends? would you be happy to be "free" or would you freak out completely? His point was that comfort, stability, and some level of happiness come from routine and ties to a place. The same is true, the argument goes, for zoo animals.

Of course we can never know for sure if this is true. Maybe the tiger really does desire freedom, or maybe he's happy living out his life in the zoo environment. My discomfort spoke far more about my own mind than it did about the tiger. Am I really happy going about the same routine in the same place? An uncomfortable question to be sure.