Ode to The Panther

The entrance to the Buenos Aires Zoo.

During my first trip to Argentina in 2004, my bucket list included visiting the Buenos Aires zoo. This was not a wish born of an enjoyment of zoos. I actually believe they should be outlawed unless their purpose is to breed endangered species and/or to rehabilitate animals. I was bent on going because I wanted to see the black panther in captivity there; to read a Rainer Maria Rilke poem to it in order to feel the essence of one of my literary heroes. I ha...