Location Taken: National Zoo, Washington DC
Time Taken: March 2010
I’m done being an anemone. Today I’m an otter. Not as social as these otters, maybe, but sleek and swimming sound good to me.
I barely recall the times I’ve seen otters in zoos and aquariums, but I clearly remember the one time I saw a wild one. Amusingly, it was right next to the Seattle Aquarium, which is on a pier sticking out into Puget Sound. I even had a brief thought that maybe this patch of the sound was blocked off so people could see a “wild” animal when they walked by, but that was obviously not the case. It was just a lovely coincidence with a friendly otter checking out what we odd humans were doing.
While zoos are a great way to see and study animals, you still, well, expect to see those animals where they are. There’s no sense of discovery, of connection to a deeper world beyond just the layer we humans live in. Seeing a wild animal always starts with a small thrill of discovery and identification. After all, you have to know if it’s safe to stay where you are. Even if the answer is “run as fast as you can away from the alligator!” there’s still that initial, wonderful, thrill. You have stepped into a world where you’re not in charge, where things can be unpredictable, and your deep instincts start waking up.
If you can be addicted to discovery, I think I am an addict.
