Wednesday, September 5, 2012
More than few years ago, bonding with an orphaned orangutan in Borneo
By Steve Dale
Why we’re headed to see the mountain gorillas.
Leaving our pets, pet sitter and neighbors behind…
"No one who looks into a gorilla's eyes can remain unchanged," George Schaller
I grew up watching Marlin Perkins “Mutual of Omaha’s” Wild Kingdom.” Pre cable, and pre Animal Planet and before National Geographic specials, there weren’t many choices.
Remember the banter?
“I am here – in the air conditioned studio - and will tell everyone why Mutual of Omaha Insurance is so important. Meanwhile, let’s catch up with Jim, in the Nile River surrounded by man eating crocodiles.”
I never missed a National Geographic special, particularly those that featured the great ape gals, primatoloists Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. Though naturalist George Schaller was, in truth, the first to start dispelling long-held King Kong myths about gorillas, it was really Fossey who received the acclaim. And deservedly so.
My dad and I watched this stuff for hours, soaking it in.
I still recall watching on TV, Goodall’s discovery of chimpanzees using tools, like sticks, to “fish” termites by watching a chimp named David Greybird.
Naming the chimps not only served for her and other researchers as a source of identification, also it brilliantly emotionally connected viewers to the chimps.
The same for gorillas - there was Fossey’s favorite Digit, who I felt I came to know. Clearly Digit had a unique personality. Anthropomorphizing? A bit. But then without that connecting to a gorilla halfway around the world – the outcome wouldn’t have affected me and millions of others when we learned about Digit’s ruthless murder by poachers.
I cried. Millions cried. I cried for the brave, strong willed, towering woman with steely determination – as much we cried about the tragic death of someone who felt like a friend, even if that was a friend we never met, and if that friend was a gorilla. .
Many years later - while working as a volunteer at the Lincoln Park Zoo, several fellow volunteers told me about a trip they were planning to Borneo to actually participate in research for that forgotten great ape, the orangutan. We’d actually work for Birute Galdikas, the researcher plucked years before to learn about the red ape by Louis Leakey, who also handpicked Goodall and Fossey.
I jumped at the chance.
So many memories: Babysitting for orphaned orangutans and encouraging them to climb. I watching as one wild orang, without knocking first, swung right though an open window and swiped a package of crackers off a counter in our cabin. Best of all rising pre-dawn, walking through the forest with flashlights to greet an orangutan bedded up in a tree, then taking copious notes on everything that animal eats, mapping travel until it’s bedtime.
The experience changed my life. And I wasn’t the only one. Another Lincoln Park Zoo volunteer Jane Lohmar then on the fast-track to become a hot shot bank executive. Today, she is Dr. Jane Lohmar, a Chicago veterinarian
.
I transitioned to writing and broadcasting full time about companion animals…and have never lost of interest in primatology.
I did meet Dian Fossey once – I was a young radio producer and she was a guest to promote her book. All I recall is that she was statuesque, and pretty much all business. At the end, she complimented the radio hosts for their “better than usual questions.” Guess who prepped Bob and Betty Sanders (Chicago radio personalities) with the questions?
I’ve meet Jane Goodall several times, and wow. All I can say is that I’ve never met anyone like her. Choosing only one word to describe her, it’s ‘angelic.’ A woman of quiet intellect and most of all, peace.
For several weeks, of course, I saw Birute Galdikas daily, though not since. Of course, I’d love to see her again. Sometimes we’d talk at length. She was passionate (of course), determined (of course), and possessed a great sense of humor. Her back story is as soap opera-like as the other great ape gals.
So, fast forward the clock to six months ago…I had earned lots of mileage? My wife Robin and I talked about traveling everywhere from Eastern Europe to the Greek Isles – We’ve never been to either place. Then, my wife suggested – why not Africa? I was there will my dad about 25 years ago. Robin never had been.
Simultaneously, Dr. Patricia Olson, once at Morris Animal Foundation overseeing the Gorilla Project (Gorilla Doctors) – and now with the American Humane Association (where I am on the Board of Directors) asked me, “Have you seen the mountain gorillas yet.”
I thought – now, you’re talking….And now we’re going – to Rwanda.
On this blog I will report on what we see in Rwanda….what it’s like to meet gorillas without glass or bars between us….Everything from the conditions clunking up the mountain to what the gorillas smell like.
I’ll report on the people of Rwanda and the significant changes in Kigali, also about concerns some have had about traveling to Kenya, where we will also go. Being a pet writer, I might blog about stray dogs and cats….and report on wildlife. I’ve heard Cheetahs are actually suffering from feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), as our domestic cats can, and that rabies is an issue for African wild dogs. And some giraffe species are disappearing.
Some of you might one day want to go on the same trip, others might make the trip vicariously through us. Either way – I’ll post throughout the trip.