We came just to see the pandas and have something to eat. Our agenda for the day lay mainly with the rented bicycles we had locked to a rack down by Rock Creek Park. And now it was time to get back.
“Let’s go see the cheetahs,” I said.
A sign said that the cheetah exhibit was just off the sidewalk leading back to the zoo entrance. And there they were lying in the grass looking just like they might look out on the Serengeti. Except of course for the fences and walls. And except that just beyond the back fence was a pen of zebras.
One of the zebras walked up to the fence and stared at the napping cheetahs. It just stood there fearlessly and looked over at them.
A cheetah lifted its head and stared back.
And time stood still for a moment as the two of them gazed into each other’s eyes. No fear. No threat. Just quizzical gazing from prey to predator to prey.
Even they knew something about the setup was not quite right.