Rage in a cage

This is an ocelot. A wild jungle cat.

He is gorgeous, painted like a sunbeamed sapphire. Pure honed predator and instinct.

I navigated the bus system for the 10 of us, rather haphazardly but succesfully over to Teresa´s for their first tropical ecology class. Teresa and her husband who does wildlife film work for the BBC and other broadcasters around South America have taken in abandoned and rescued wild animals from Ecuador for years. Their backyard serves as a rescue zoo of sorts complete with astute mischevious parrots, colorful humurous macaws, curious kinkajous, two sleepy eyed Andean bears, and one ferocious ocelot; all rescued from the illegal pet trade.

I had a hard time choosing a shot today. I had some stellar shots of this beautiful creature, but none of them captured the reality quiet so well as this one. To show him depicted peaceful and secure in the high grass would be false, beautiful as the picture looked. This is more like the reality. A noble wild creature trapped and encaged behind bars.

Sometimes I feel that way too. I hate seeing wild things behind bars even if it is for their better good to keep them alive, no longer adapted to fend for themselves in the wild. Seldom does this guy make himself so vocal and known. Usually he hides and sleeps away hidden from prying eyes, but this morning he came out to greet me full of wrath contemplating each other very close....