All the Monkeys Aren’t in the Zoo
A baby gorilla was born at the Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle a few months ago His mother had been raised by humans and, despite a bunch of gorilla-oriented parenting classes, she rejected her baby. The staff at the zoo tried and tried but eventually had to accept the fact she had no desire to be a mother. I remember the song “Swingin’ on a Star” when I was a kid. I thought it was fun and I remember the words, “All the monkeys aren’t in the zoo, Everyday you meet quite a few.”I thought of it when I went to the zoo. I haven’t lived anyplace with a world class zoo in ages. A cage-free sort of place, where the animals roam feely within large areas.The downside is it’s sometimes difficult to see all of them very well but I’m okay with that. I discovered they are fed near the viewing areas shortly after the zoo opens so that’s a good time to observe. The first time I went, I was shocked at the price of admission but discovered that a season pass would cost me less than three individual visits. I invested in one. The first time I visited I was overwhelmed with the size of the place but realized I didn’t have to see everything in one day or even in several hours so I concentrated on the “Savannah”. I was disappointed not to see the gorillas because the Seattle zoo is known for them though the new baby was still too young to be included in the group. I was tired and wanted to give them ample time so I decided to devote a separate visit totally to gorillas. I went back the next week and headed directly there. In one of the family groups, a large male silverback was lounging nonchalantly on his back near the viewing area and there were several teenage and younger ones climbing trees, swinging on ropes, and generally just fooling around. Two of the young adult gorillas got in a shoving match and one pushed the other into the plexiglass where we stood, causing the “glass” to bend slightly. A little girl near me cried and truthfully, I thought it was a little scary too. The big silverback stood up in an imposing way and glared at the two younger ones. They shrank back and looked like they were saying, “It wasn’t me, dad. He started it.”. The group of children near the window eventually drifted away and I was able to stand close. A young gorilla, the equivalent of a twelve or thirteen year old boy came very close and licked my face chin to forehead, through the glass. Then he stood back with what looked to me like a sassy face, slapped the glass and ran off. One person told me was he was flirting. A friend said he was angry, that he didn’t like being looked at. Someone I know who actually works at the zoo said he was just plain old imitating the alpha behavior of the silverback, who is his father. I took it kind of personally and felt a little deflated. The new baby gorilla has been sent away to the zoo in Louisville, Kentucky, where the experts believe a female, who has fostered other babies there, will take him on. I hope she teaches him to be respectful of well-meaning and admiring visitors.
Photo courtesy GeoGab at Pixabay.com
