Ambassador to the Zoo: Science Fiction

The zoo did not have locks on the doors, although there were glass enclosures and fences to keep people out. "All of our ambassadors go to the zoo," the Z'trians assured him, when he balked. Earth had checked out the claim thoroughly, and it seemed to be true. Not just the races weaker than the Z'trians, either; all of them. It wasn't so bad, once he'd adjusted to hundreds of goggle-eyed schoolchildren staring at him for twelve hours a day. It was a little frustrating--he was an Ambassador, trained to negotiate high-level treaties, damn it!--but it was The Way Things Were Done. Earth had known that before he left. He'd been picked in part because his psychological profile showed that he would--

Inspiration: Read about a Goldie the eagle escaping from Regent's Park Zoo in London in 1965.
Story Potential: High? I like it, and the more I play with it, the more it engages me.
Notes: I was thinking about zoos, so I decided to do something with zoos. Not the old "captives" trope, neither. What are the other functions of zoos? To educate, to entertain, to engage the young. Pandas are cute and protected because we like them in zoos.