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Gorillas hold 'wake' for group's leader
- Thread starter jsw
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Perhaps he didn't want to appear weak? Perhaps by showing attention to her it would in some way detract from his stance as leader? Hard to say...blackfox said:
It must have been an amazing thing to witness. Sad, too.
That's very, very sad. The Brookfield zoo has the most amazing "natural' ape house - still a depressing place for me to be in though. You may remember a few years ago when a kid fell in with the apes - a mother ape carried the child to the door where the humans come in/ot and guarded the child from other apes until the humans could get the kid out - simply amazing. Primate specialist Jane Goodall had a great PBS special on this story a few years back.
I know. The more you know about them, the more disturbing you find their confinement to be. I understand that zoos are trying to keep numbers of them safer than they would be in the wild, and I understand that they need to be on exhibit to make money required to pay for their care. I just think it's invasive and unfortunate. I don't mind seeing lions, etc., in exhibits as long as they're well fed and have enough room to roam - I think they actually feel pretty secure there. But I do feel badly about the higher primates. They know they're in a cage. And, clearly, they are not "just animals".aricher said:
jsw said:
that is the reason why i haven't benn in a zoo for more than 15 years. i acknowledge the good work people there do. i also think it's important to show people/kids the animals they are supposed to protect. personally i just can't enjoy my day looking at locked up animals......
There was a lengthy article on this in the Tribune this morning on the front page. It's amazing how similar to us they really are; I had to read the entire article before anything else this morning.
As far as zoos go, I think that they serve an important purpose, which is to educate the public about animals and to try and foster an appreciation of them amongst the human population.
It is, however, unfortunate that it requires them to be so restricted. Even the lions, tigers, etc., many of whom naturally roam many miles, are forced to be in areas smaller than my back yard for most of their lives. Having dogs, I know that animals born to roam at least a little bit get depressed being stuck indoors or in a yard for too long.
Perhaps in the future (assuming we haven't wiped them out) there will be easier and more affordable means to go on "educational safaris" to see the animals in the wild.
As far as zoos go, I think that they serve an important purpose, which is to educate the public about animals and to try and foster an appreciation of them amongst the human population.
It is, however, unfortunate that it requires them to be so restricted. Even the lions, tigers, etc., many of whom naturally roam many miles, are forced to be in areas smaller than my back yard for most of their lives. Having dogs, I know that animals born to roam at least a little bit get depressed being stuck indoors or in a yard for too long.
Perhaps in the future (assuming we haven't wiped them out) there will be easier and more affordable means to go on "educational safaris" to see the animals in the wild.
I volunteer/work at the Columbus Zoo. We recently did this when we euthanized one of our female gorillas. It is very scarry how close to humans they are weather its this or even playing. Amazing creatures.
Kevin
Kevin
My high school psych teacher used to say that change = stress. For any animal with enough memory and learning to feel change, I would expect that to be true, not just humans....and when someone so much a part of your life is gone, you're going to feel it.
Though the event was sad, I actually think this is more cool than anything else.
Though the event was sad, I actually think this is more cool than anything else.
And yes I do agree that zoos need to become larger for the animal. Speaking on the Columbus Zoo, I really think we have come a far way but still have to go farther. A lot has happened because of Jack Hanna. He changed us from the old idea of a zoo with cages into an area with more natural exibots for the animals. The next step which we are working on is creating larger exibots and becoming a conservation facility. Sometimes at work I do agree that the animals need to be free but that is the one problem with zoos. I believe the benifits out weigh the disadvantages. How much research is gathered, even if its not on purpose. All our diet and dailies are online and its amazing how much you can find out about animals from that. And being a part of the Education Dept, I think the primary focus of the zoo is to education people.
Thats my 2¢.
Kevin
Thats my 2¢.
Kevin
blackfox said:
Not really, as the male leader he needed to retain his strength in the time of crisis.
jared_kipe said:
Not really, unless the male gorilla told you so, you're just making an educated guess at the reasons for his actions. Even if it is right, it's still interesting to see what constitutes strength amongst the gorilla population.
At my Grandmothers funeral my Grandfather didn't shed a tear and stayed one step back from the mourning. Irish... gorilla... eh we're all the same 
x86isslow said:
The only female dominated great apes are the gracile chimps (bonobos)
every other great ape is male dominated with a female hierarchy as well
Gibbons are monogamous and there is no dominance.
In gorillas the oldest/largest male is the boss but the females choose the male group to join, the males are aggressive but really protective of the young and will even raise orphans, read socio-biology work done by Fossey or Pascal on Highland Gorillas
I think that the even sadder news was this:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041208.wchimp1208/BNStory/Front/?query=bonobo
Bonobos are our closest living relatives found in only one region in the world, and they are being slaughetered by the civil war and the continuing bushmeat trade, same with the gorillas
Ape meat is the highest prized bushmeat in Africa, with a Chimp fetching the hunter $2 while a gorilla can be up to $5.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20041208.wchimp1208/BNStory/Front/?query=bonobo
Bonobos are our closest living relatives found in only one region in the world, and they are being slaughetered by the civil war and the continuing bushmeat trade, same with the gorillas
Ape meat is the highest prized bushmeat in Africa, with a Chimp fetching the hunter $2 while a gorilla can be up to $5.
That is a very sad situation, when animals get caught in the middle of war. Poaching is a real problem on the continent of Africa. To them it is only about the money. Hopefully they can setup a preserve in that area for their safety soon. Preserves that are done right have saved numerous animals.
Brookfield zoo is like 2 miles from my house.
I haven't been there in such a long time, though.
Maybe I should make a trip back.
I haven't been there in such a long time, though.
Maybe I should make a trip back.
Speaking of zoos, anyone who is or ends up in the San Diego area should definetly go check out their Wild Animal Park. There's a huge central area where all the critters that won't eat each other are allowed to roam around pretty freely. They can't get out of course, but it's impressive to see.
say hello to koko........
http://koko.org/
*
Koko is a 33 year-old lowland gorilla who learned to speak American Sign Language when she was just a baby. Her teacher, Dr. Penny Patterson, began working with Koko as a Ph.D. project at Stanford, thinking it would only be a 4-year study.
Thirty-some years later, Penny and Koko continue to work together at the Gorilla Foundation in one of the longest interspecies communication studies ever conducted, the only one with gorillas. Koko now has a vocabulary of over 1000 signs, and understands even more spoken English.
Koko has become famous not only for her language capabilities, but also her heart-warming relationship with kittens (captured in the book Koko's Kitten). As Penny says, "she's just as much a person as we are."
Koko's greatest desire is to have a baby. She has indicated that she will teach her children sign language, which will engender the next generation of interspecies communication.
Koko has become the ambassador for her critically endangered species. People need to care about a species to save it, and Koko makes people care! The completion of the new Maui Ape Preserve by the Gorilla Foundation, and the expansion of our Africa Projects, will help assure the future for Koko, ape language studies, free-lliving gorillas and other great ape species. You can help!
http://koko.org/
*
Koko is a 33 year-old lowland gorilla who learned to speak American Sign Language when she was just a baby. Her teacher, Dr. Penny Patterson, began working with Koko as a Ph.D. project at Stanford, thinking it would only be a 4-year study.
Thirty-some years later, Penny and Koko continue to work together at the Gorilla Foundation in one of the longest interspecies communication studies ever conducted, the only one with gorillas. Koko now has a vocabulary of over 1000 signs, and understands even more spoken English.
Koko has become famous not only for her language capabilities, but also her heart-warming relationship with kittens (captured in the book Koko's Kitten). As Penny says, "she's just as much a person as we are."
Koko's greatest desire is to have a baby. She has indicated that she will teach her children sign language, which will engender the next generation of interspecies communication.
Koko has become the ambassador for her critically endangered species. People need to care about a species to save it, and Koko makes people care! The completion of the new Maui Ape Preserve by the Gorilla Foundation, and the expansion of our Africa Projects, will help assure the future for Koko, ape language studies, free-lliving gorillas and other great ape species. You can help!
----
While at Stanford in the late 1970's, Koko had a computer that would voice a word when she pressed letters on the keyboard, In the 1980's, Apple developed a 70 icon touch screen computer that voiced a word associated with the icon, when Koko pressed the icon.
----
From the koko.org faq page. it all comes back to apple
While at Stanford in the late 1970's, Koko had a computer that would voice a word when she pressed letters on the keyboard, In the 1980's, Apple developed a 70 icon touch screen computer that voiced a word associated with the icon, when Koko pressed the icon.
----
From the koko.org faq page. it all comes back to apple
748s said:
I have seen stories about Koko on TV more than once. One of them was Animal Planet. Found it to be thoroughly fascinating. The two of them together have made great strides with understanding each other. I certainly hope that this project will continue.