Grrr

Yesterday, Adam and I took a little trip to the Squam Lakes Science Center (http://www.nhnature.org/). This is a place I've wanted to visit, well - revisit for quite some time. Let me briefly explain my first "visit."

When we were kids, for a short time my dad lived across the street from the Science Center. On one of our every-other-weekend visits, he decided to take us across the street. But the place was closed. Not sure if we were even supposed to be there - I'm going with not - but dad has never been one to follow the rules. Actually, he is one to always follow the rules, so this was a little uncharacteristic of him. Another shocking thing? He wanted to do something even remotely involved with "nature." So, we kids rolled with it.

Off the four of us went - Dad, Scott, Marc and me. We couldn't have been very old at this point - maybe we were still all under 10? I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that I will never forget what transpired as we walked the trails of the Science Center.

We came across the deer enclosure. "Wow, that one really wants to get out..." one of us, maybe all of us said at one point. There was a young buck with little nubs for horns, ramming the chain link fence that housed the deer. He meant business. He so did not want to be there. So, we watched for a few minutes and then continued on with our walk through the trails.

Eventually, we started making our way home, walking down the long paved driveway of the Science Center - when we heard it - the pounding of hooves on the pavement. We all looked back, and wouldn't you know it? That buck was comin' at us. "Run, kids!," my dad yelled to us.

Run we did. But not without looking back and watching this buck bump our dad in the butt the entire way down the driveway. I laugh out loud every time I recall this story. It ended up being a whole scene. Police were called and dispatched to capture the rogue deer. "Lettuce, throw it some lettuce..." that's what we were told to give the deer to keep it around. I think he was eventually captured and returned to the Center. Sad, actually.

Which is what I left feeling after our visit yesterday. A little bit. Don't get me wrong, the animals that call the Science Center home are obviously well cared for. Their habitats are as close to what they would live in if they were in the wild. But, damn. Some of them just didn't seem to dig their digs.

I point to a couple of things when I say this. As we approached the red fox exhibit, I noticed one of the foxes pacing back and forth on the far end of the exhibit away from us - so wanting to be on the other side of that fence. I sat there and watched him/her looking longingly. Who knows? Maybe there was just a tasty looking rabbit on the other side that only the fox could see and he wanted to grab it and come right back in. But I doubt it.

Then we moved onto the bobcat enclosure where there was a woman dangling her backpack back and forth as one of the bobcats tried to go after it like a cat would a string. This woman with her four or so unruly kids and husband no doubt drove one of those cars in the parking lot with red plates (Mass). As the woman dangled her backpack, her kids were screaming at it and making faces. Well the bobcat's buddy didn't like this too much and came out of the den attacking the glass. Full on wanting to grab onto those kids and make a meal of them. The Mass family acted so shocked that the cats would do this - they had gasps of horror. Well, what the hell people? This is a wild animal. The cat just acted out what I was thinking.

There's no doubt in my mind that the fine folks at the Science Center are doing good work. But I can't shake the image of that fox. So obviously still wild and unable to be.