We’ve just come back from two weeks in San Diego–we were trying to escape the Minnesota cold…

We spent a lot of our time there in Balboa Park—our visits included the Botanical House, the House of Man, and the Zoo. It has been a number of years since we’ve been to the San Diego Zoo, and I’d almost forgotten how much fun it is to engage with so many animals.

There are creatures big and small, with an amazing variety of shapes, colors, patterns, and sounds. The flamingos, who welcomed us, are the noisiest. They run in packs, following each other and chattering like a group of teenagers at a high school football game.

The gorillas, orangutans and many of the other primates are our close cousins. We are not so very different. Our cousins have eyes that are bright and intelligent. They use tools, they play with each other, and they make plans and decisions. As I stood in crowds of people gazing at these intelligent cousins, I kept wondering: What do they think of us? Are they annoyed when we stare? Do they think we’re rude when we laugh at them? Do they see us as invading their privacy (which we are)? Do they resent being imprisoned in this lovely zoo?

It’s a conundrum—a zoo is a safe place, especially considering that many of the species there are both in danger and endangered because of humans. But what they don’t have is freedom.

As I was doing a quick sketch of one of the gorillas, he glanced over at me. It was a quick, sideways glance, his eyes deep and dark, under his furrowed brow. His look took my breath away. I knew this guy, who might have been a friend or relative…we might have had dinner together…