“Feliz is our lone jaguar. The last jaguar we had before him died of despair. That wasn't the official cause of death, of course not, but we all knew it. The rumor goes that the zoo's owners, the Pinkton family, paid an obscene amount to acquire another jaguar, probably the only one on Earth, given the state of the countries in which the creature's natural habitat once existed. Feliz was plucked out of the last few acres of the Amazon as the bulldozers waited, like customers impatiently hovering while a buffet is prepared. So Feliz is kind of a big deal. He doesn't appear cognizant of this fact, however. If anything, he looks to be on a mission to wear away the floor of his enclosure until he drops right through the earth and out of this life. He paces without cease. His nails are worn to stubs and his mouth hangs open in a perpetual rictus that wrecks your heart. He longs to forget all this, and to be forgotten.” NatureDespairAnimalsZoosEndangered SpeciesJaguars Book:The Island of Last Things Source: The Island of Last Things
“If her years at the zoo had taught her anything, it was that no creature was as dangerous as a man being laughed at.” MenDangerCreaturesLaughterAnimalsHumiliationMasculinityZoosLaughing At Book:The Island of Last Things Source: The Island of Last Things
“So many of the animals are sensitive, exquisitely attuned to the emotional state of those around them. They can pick up the smallest frequencies of distress or anger, and it can make them act in ways that clueless keepers disapprovingly call "erratic." It's not erratic, though, to be influenced by the mood of someone close to you. Humans do it all the time.” HumansRelationshipsEmotionsAnimalsSensitivityZoosMoodsInfluencesZookeepersZoo Animals Book:The Island of Last Things Source: The Island of Last Things