Consider that our species, and any animal unlucky enough to be fed and “cared for” by us, are the only living entities in nature that have to contend with physical abnormalities, emotional and temperament distress, and a myriad of diseases unknown to their wild kin. And interestingly enough, we more readily identify the problem of “environmental mismatch” in captive and domesticated species than we do in ourselves. Might that be because we fail, in our self-aggrandizing hubris, to even recognize ourselves as true animals? As if our highly complex brains, opposable thumbs, and technical prowess have somehow elevated us beyond the reach of Nature’s dictates? How can we as a species guard against both the overt and unintended social and environmental “imprisonment” that we as a species face? How can we reach for the stars while remaining within our assigned biological orbit? To escape the Human Zoo, we must first come face-to-face with our principle keeper: ourselves.
