Skana

For some reason, this past night I dreamed of Stanley Park. It's situated on the western tip of Vancouver and is a favorite place for people to stroll and jog. Homeless people have been known to camp there. I used to love Stanley Park when I was living in BC. There is a zoo, of sorts, in Stanley Park. The monkey cage was my favorite. One day, my school went there on a day trip. My friends and I went to see the monkeys. It was surreal. A great crowd of people stood around the enclosure which was shaped like a horseshoe and hooted at the monkeys who sat quietly watching the crowd. I felt a bit ashamed at these people's behavior. Aren't we humans supposed to be more intelligent than them? But I guess silliness might just be a trait of intelligence, representing, as it does, free will. My entire favorite place was the marine park. The belugas would come over to the glass and look at me and I always felt that they liked me. I have since read that others feel the same. We may not be wrong although why a mammal taken from it's natural environment and trapped in a tank would like us, I can't figure. But Skana was the queen of the park. Skana was a killer whale. A beautiful mammal all black and white. People loved Skana. Imagine my surprise one day in the nineties when I picked up a newspaper just to read that Skana had blasted through the glass in her tank and had cut herself so badly she had died. I just couldn't believe it. Not Skana! I don't know if they ever figured out why she rammed through the window. They know it was deliberate. Was she frustrated? angry? sick and tired of captivity? We'll never know and I'll never feel anything but sorrow for the beautiful marine creature that just couldn't take any more.