"A Report for an Academy" and Life of Pi

I was reading Life of Pi and this part in chapter 4 that reminded me a lot of "A Report for an Academy". In the book, the boy, Pi, lives on a zoo. He talks about people that come to visit the zoo and say that when animals are in the wild they are "happy" and "free", and that they have all these ideas about wild animals like lions and cheetahs running on the savannah, hunting and eating happily, and looking after their family and young. All in all, they envision the animals with a happy life. However, Pi knows that none of that is true. All animals (including humans) are territorial and run completely on a schedule based on their surroundings (which they grow very accustom and attached to). Even in the zoo, when one little thing is changed, the animals react a odd ways. They certainly wouldn't be able to have a comfortable schedule in the wild, and in the zoo they get a care they need while still able to live in a semi-natural habitat (a man-made area that replicates their normal home). It reminded me of Red Peter and our conversation about freedom and a way out. It made me think 'if freedom really it's all cracked up to be?' Red Peter, while comfortable in his ignorance and freedom, knew that once he dabbled in education and human ways, he could never go back. The animals in Pi's zoo are similar. They may not be able to fully tell the difference between real freedom and zoo-freedom, but they have better care and healthier, safer lives.