Homeschooling and wild cats

We spent a wonderful day exploring a breeding compound for exotic and rare cats.  Watching the powerful leopards, snow leopards, black leopards, bobcats, etc. was mesmerizing.  The kids were excited, but soon learned that their enthusiasm would scare the cats into their hiding places.  So they became quiet and observant.  We had a great tour guide who gave us facts about each cat, and educated us all about their habitats and rarity in the wild.  This is one of the many things I love about homeschooling.  Kids get to learn what interests them, and ask all the questions they want.  Our guide was surprised at the good questions.

The cages are relatively small, so we saw many nearly face to face.  There were several of them that I could sit and watch all day, namely the snow leopards and the black leopard.  Their power, their utter relaxation, their "sawing" which are vocalizations they make that sound like handsaws going through wood, and their huge, soft paws fascinated me.  Many zoos are unsettling to me, but for some reason this wasn't.  Maybe it was because the cats looked content.  They lounged, yawned, and enthusiastically ate the chicken that was given to them at feeding time. 

Barry Lopez on said "if you see a lion in a zoo, you have not seen a lion."  In general, I agree with him, but today seemed to dispel some of that.  These were wild, alive animals who showed their strength and power.