Read the following two poems − one about a tiger and the other about a panther. Then discuss: Are zoos necessary for the protection or conservation of some species of animals? Are they useful for educating the public? Are there alternatives to zoos? The Tiger The tiger behind the bars of his cage growls, The tiger behind the bars of his cage snarls, The tiger behind the bars of his cage roars. Then he thinks. It would be nice not to be behind bars all The time Because they spoil my view I wish I were wild, not on show. But if I were wild, hunters might shoot me, But if I were wild, food might poison me, But if I were wild, water might drown me. Then he stops thinking And... The tiger behind the bars of his cage growls, The tiger behind the bars of his cage snarls, The tiger behind the bars of his cage roars. PETER NIBLETT The Panther His vision, from the constantly passing bars, has grown so weary that it cannot hold anything else. It seems to him there are a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world. As he paces in cramped circles, over and over, the movement of his powerful soft strides is like a ritual dance around a centre in which a mighty will stands paralysed. Only at times, the curtain of the pupils lifts, quietly. An image enters in, rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles, plunges into the heart and is gone. RAINER MARIA RILKE