The temperature is only marginally above freezing point at the Little Rock zoo. Most of the exotics are curled up, asleep, and dreaming away the cold. The giraffes sulk around their enclosure, banished from their pens so that they can be cleaned. The elephants are out, and the Malay tiger pokes gingerly at the pool that has frozen over.
Perched on a dead limb, under the shade of an awning, one resident patiently watches. It is against the law to keep this magnificent raptor captive. But this bird of prey is not a victim of containment. Injured, it cannot fly. Despite this liability, it continues to sit proud, contemptuously surveying those few that amble by on this icy morning.
With clear, blue skies above, and no roof to keep it contained, there is irony in the fact that it does not peer upward to freedom. Instead, its gaze remains focused upon movement on the ground. Until it has recovered enough to take wing again, its vigilant eyes practice their art.
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