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| The lovely Ocean. |
Ocean is fast becoming my favorite
word. I have had a love for and fascination with the ocean, ever
since I was a little girl. I loved how the colours would change with
every season. The ocean can go from blue to neon green or from a
vibrant red to a mucky brown - sort of like nature's mood ring. I
love what lives in the ocean, from dolphins to tiny invertebrates. My
favorites animal is a nudibranch. As a species, they are all so
vastly different in size, shape and colour that it's hard to believe
they are all related to one another. I highly suggest you check them
out.
I found my love for the ocean
unexpectedly at the zoo as well. I met a Eurasian lynx named Ocean, and with a
name like that, I fell in love with her instantly. She's a little old
lady and she's blind. Watching her provides me with countless hours
of entertainment, and a sense of amazement. She can't see a thing yet
she moves around with more grace than I can muster on a good day.
Ocean has her enclosure memorized, which allows her to find her water
bowl, the spot where I feed her everyday and her favorite place to
sleep in. One night, it was stormy and a tree fell onto the fence of
Ocean's enclosure. There was minimal damage to the fence and no
damage to the animals, but part of the tree broke off and now lay
inside the enclosure. When I discovered it the next morning, I
wondered how Ocean would fair against this new obstacle. Would she
bump her little nose on it when she encountered it for the first
time?
I watched as she trotted towards it
and then slowed her pace as she approached the log. I could tell she
knew something was different. Ocean batted the log with her paws a
few times, but at last stepped over it with care and continued on her
way as if nothing had changed. Impressive, I thought, but then
again I always seem to underestimate animals.
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| Get him Osh!! |
Most of our guests don't know that
Ocean is blind. They are usually surprised when I tell them. Ocean
has only one tell: the way she walks. Papa, the male lynx that lives
with her, walks with his head forward. His body is relaxed and he
lets his nose stick out in front of his body. Ocean takes longer
steps with her front paws. She has a slight hesitation to her step
and her back end sticks up in the air a little due to her careful
slinking. Ocean keeps her nose farther back than Papa, letting her
feet lead. Even with all her careful movements, she does occasionally
bump things – including Papa. Papa is a bit of a grump and
altercations between the two of them do occur, but even without her
sight Ocean holds her own. Both Papa and Ocean were privately owned
pets and were declawed by their previous owners before they came t
live at the zoo. Although it's sad, their lack of claws is for the
best, it seems, when it comes to their fights. Even with her all her
spirit and surprisingly good aim, I'm grateful that Papa can't do any
real damage to Ocean.
Watching Ocean bat at the air with
unfocused eyes is a bit comical. However, I can't help but think of a
line from the movie Bolt
when I watch her. There is a black cat in the movie that befriends
Bolt – her name escapes me right now. When Bolt first meets the
cat, it appears that she's vicious and rules the ally ways, but Bolt
later discovers that she is actually very vulnerable. She was
abandoned by her owners. In frustration she cries out “humans are
great until the leave their declawed cat to fend for itself.” Zoos
take a lot of heat for keeping animals in captivity, but I ask you
this: would a blind, declawed lynx like Ocean stand a chance in the
wild? I think you would have to agree that the odds would be stacked
against her. In a perfect world there would be no need for zoos,
but Ocean should serve as a reminder of why they have to exist.
It's not hard to love Ocean because
she truly is amazing, but it's hard to see the good side of her
situation. Ocean reminds me everyday why I work in a place that cages
animals. I make sure to tell anyone who is foolish enough to want a
wild animal as a pet to think twice about the implications of their
actions – because I'm reminded every day and it's the least I can
do for Ocean's wild counter parts.
