Real Animals…Fake Habitat

Yesterday, I went on a field trip to Brookfield Zoo with my seventh and eighth grade students. I already know what you are thinking and no, we made it through without incident. That does not mean the gravity of the situation (4/11/09) did not cross their minds.
The proverbial “Elephant in the Room” (pun intended) was addressed once we made it to the polar bear habitat. But something was a little off. While the other animals found shelter in their habitat from the three straight days of April Showers, the polar bear was prowling back and forth (like in the picture) at the edge of his cliff where the gully separated him/her from us. As if he/she too knew what had transpired 10 days ago.
When I think more about it, this issue is four-dimensional.
[1st Dimension] My students were comparing Lincoln Park Zoo to Brookfield Zoo saying Lincoln Park is better and when they asked me I said, “I am not really a Lincoln Park Zoo person with all those well groomed, well feed and spoiled Lincoln Park animals.”
I was referencing Alex from Madagascar at the time because it seemed like he forgot what he was. I am all for putting animals into captivity to save them from extinction, but the whole performing aspect, putting them on display for people to say, “Look mommy, there’s a (insert animal here)!!” is wrong.
[2nd Dimension] Then there are those people who intentionally abuse, maim or even kill animals at the zoo knowing good and well they would NEVER try that nonsense in the wild. But because the animals are in cages some people think it is okay to:
behead flamingos at the Frankfurt Zoo or attack penguins and feed them to lions at the Belfast Zoo or kick a wallaby to death at the Dudley Zoo or kill rare reptiles before feeding them to crocodiles.

[3rd Dimension] But ever so often, if those cute caged animals – that certain people feel so compelled to touch – touch back it is labeled an “attack”. The last time I checked, if a person trespasses on my property, in my habitat, I have the right to defend myself.

They had it all on CNN like it was a national tragedy like, “Awwwww, it’s so sad.”
Well, I didn’t see anything sad at all…these weren’t kids, these were grown people. I feel like: if you’re grown and you get killed and you get killed by an (animal) and you get killed by an (animal) in a zoo…I feel like if you raise a child - at any age - that’s dumb enough to (think about) climb(ing) into an (animal) cage you should tell them the rest of that story: “That (animal) is gonna eat you baby. That’s the end.”
Then the zookeeper got on TV and started talking stuff about the (animal)…like they were disappointed in the (animal). Like, “We can’t believe they’d do something like that. They’ve never done something like that before. And if they’re a danger to the community then we’ll have to get rid of them.”
You’re going to get rid of the (animal)? The only REAL thing in the equation and you’re going to get rid of the (animal)?
You have to look at this from the (animal’s) point of view. This isn’t a fake-got-it-at-the-mall (animal). This is a real, National Geographic (animal); the same (animals) that you see on the necks of (helpless prey).
And everyday they have this real (animal) in a fake habitat. Real (animal)…fake habitat. And the (animal’s) not suppose to know that it’s fake. So everyday, the (animal) is all messed up because he’s conflicted. Everything in the (animal’s) spirit is telling him, “Dude, you’re a monster, a beast, you run the jungle, you’re suppose to roar and things get scared.”

And everyday the (animal) comes out and tries it and it doesn’t work.
He’ll be like, “Wish me luck…ROAAAAAAR!!! You see that lady take a camera phone picture of me right in the middle of my roar? You see how they disrespect (me)?”
These poor (animals) don’t know what to do. The (animal’s) messed up because the (animal) feels like it should be eating elephants and giraffes and everyday they come feed him meat out of a bucket…He doesn’t know what to feel and after a while he gets depressed. You know how we get depressed and start doubting ourselves. Doubting things we shouldn’t even doubt.
I bet the (animals) got as low as they could possibly get, “Are you sure I’m an (animal)? I don’t feel very much like an (animal). Maybe I’m just a (stuffed) koala bear.”
But as a real (animal), they can’t ever afford to give up because all real (animals) are waiting on one opportunity. And that’s the opportunity to show just how REAL they are.

- Katt Williams

Comedian

So when those commonsense-lacking people – thinking a zoo animal is less ferocious than an animal in the wild – stepped over that Panda’s gate or jumped into that Tiger's and Lion’s den or dove into that Hippo’s and Polar Bear’s water, those people experienced how REAL those animals were. 

“You can take the (insert animal here) out the jungle but you can never take the jungle out the (insert animal here).”
To make this more poignant, watch Madagascar again and look at the internal conflict Marty is dealing with. [4th Dimension] You think it was a coincidence that the only animal with feelings of being free from bondage – free from being mentally and physically confined – was the voice of a black actor? 

First of all, if you cannot understand what it’s like to be an animal in a zoo, I don’t know how you’re ever going to understand what it’s like to be a black (person) in America.

- Katt Williams

Comedian

"Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King Jr. could march. MLK Jr. marched so Barack Obama could run. President Obama ran so that little black children can fly." 
With the election of Barack Obama, he opened the door and the Caged Birds do not sing anymore…they soar.