Captured moments: Freedom

So what do you do on the free day in the middle of the week when there is no lectures? You grab a friend and go to the local ZOO (in my case that would be in Ljubljana)...

It is so relaxing just wandering around, enjoying the nature and watching the animals. Their life seems so easy. They spend their day eating...

Hanging out...

Observing the observers...

Sleeping...

And letting the others to take care of them and serve them...

I was (and still am) so jealous of this guys... Ok, they probably also have to clean after the animals but the important thing is that they get to feed them, they can touch them and most of all they can play with them in their day-to-day job (so they are also paid to do that).

By the way, at the end of the show this guy got a kiss from the sea lion! I'd like that too...

But despite of their easy life this animals are still in capture.

If we look at pros and cons we can see that there are more on both sides.
It's a fact that there are several species that are not yet extincted just because they are bred and taken care of in different ZOOs around the world. Those in favor also say that the majority of the animals have never seen the wilderness so they don't miss it and they couldn't survive out of the cage.
Opponents disagree by claiming that the animals in the ZOO can't do what they want, go where they want and be with whom they want. That this is not their natural inhabitant so they are not free.

I can't avoid asking myself at this point - is the constant fear and battle for survival really a freedom?

And aren't we all in a way just captives of this world - the values we have been taught throughout the childhood, the everyday life, the expectations that are getting bigger every day in this wild western world?

Maybe the answer lies in the eyes of the wise old owl...