The picture on the front cover of the The Sunday Times magazine today is wonderful. It is the face of a male Orang-Utan. Sit and look at him. If there is anyone in the World who disputes that that is the line of animals from which we spring then they need to look no further than this picture. He is so 'human'. I know quite a few men who definitely bear a resemblance to him.
Dark, reddish hair attractively fashioned around his head. Lighter red, gingery moustache. Rather fetching snub nose and a rather sad 'do come hither' look to attract the ladies I thought . He lives, sadly, not in his 'proper' habitat but in Raganun Zoo in Djakarta. In other words he has been imprisoned - may have even been born into captivity for all I know. And, according to the Zoo what I thought was a come-hither look is actually a look to 'show dominance and scare off potential predators'.
And if he were a free Orang-utan then I suspect those 'predators' would be after clearing him and his group of 'ladies' and offspring off that patch of land he called 'home' (don't speak Orang-utan so can't give you the word in his language but if starlings can communicate in 'cheeps' I am sure he can (see yesterday's post). And for what? The answer is of course because they want what he has and they intend to get it by fair means or foul. And if he won't hand it to them on a plate then they will try their level best to wipe out him and his whole entourage.
I don't know how many millions of years it is since we looked like he does but I can't help thinking we haven't got all that much more 'civilised'.
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22 comments:
"Thou shalt not steal" needed to be issued as a Commandment - nothing has changed.
If humans possess a soul, then so do apes. Either way, it doesn't really matter.
Palm oil deforestration is destroying their habitat, it really is sad to see the Orang-Utan be wiped out. But don't we always undermine the weaker in our natural world, no one gave them guns to fight with.
My mother had an expression “nasty plague of humans”. I think of that phrase often these days.
Good grief ... I thought you were referring to Trump also known as (Thing 45 or Orange Jesus), not an actual orangutan 🦧 ...!
I have never accepted that theory that humans crawled out of the swamp or swung in the trees!
Yes, it is greed and I completely agree with your line of thinking. Not so popular among my family and acquaintances. Jackie
I have never supported keeping large wild animals in captivity. It is cruel and should be outlawed. Wild animals need to be in the wild and not in cages and held for viewing.
It is unquestionably greed. No doubt. It's funny how we say 'behaving like animals' as if it is a bad thing. We should really be scolding people for 'behaving like people'.
If we all just carried on as before, meat and two veg, none of this would have happened or happen.
I guess we prove that we are "civilized" by destroying the habitats of thousands of other species, polluting the air to the point of causing (or at least accelerating) global warming, and, as if that weren't enough, spending our time and money bombing, killing fellow humans. Greed. We want the land they inhabit. Selfish. Thinking only of ourselves. Mankind can pound chests and pop off about our greatness, but our history is nothing to be proud of. We certainly have NOT become more virtuous! Not any "progress" I can detect.
My Dad explained why we and apes look so much alike as they had a common creator.
It is sad that wild animals are kept confined for our amusement. When I was a child, the local zoo was abysmal as all of the animals, including elephants, lions, and tigers were in barely large enough indoor/outdoor cages. Many zoos now are much tuned into what habitats each animal needs to thrive. Disney channel on streaming has shows about Secrets of the Zoo Downunder (Sydney) and another about the Tampa Zoo. Both zoos have large habitats, vets on staff, and guided breeding programs that promote genetic diversity. I have been amazed at the thoughtful look in a silver backed male gorilla's eyes.
Interesting as always, Pat!
Hugs!
They have such expressive faces...as do all of us apes.
The zoo in our city prided itself on keeping its animals well, but it reflected the times of the 1950's when I visited as a child. Of course now it has the kind of improvements Barbara Anne mentioned in her comment.
The lone elephant then worked for all its life taking visitors for rides in a cart, and George the Orang-Utan sat all day in a concrete cage with only a swinging tyre for entertainment and a hessian bag. There are still animals imprisoned in sad conditions in many parts of the world today and I make sure I am active in signing petitions for animal welfare causes and donate to their charities. We can all help. There are those gifted who can 'read' animals well, and see into their very being , and those who haven't a clue.
Meant to sign - Pam, S. Aust.
I have often thought that our idea of civilized behavior is askance. I keep hearing about "rules of war" and think it is almost an oxymoron. Does having rules make such savagery acceptable? I cannot wrap my head around that.
Our attitude to most wildlife is pretty dire. It makes me so angry.
I guess most of us would agree that our planet was far better off without humans. If we could limit ourselves to a reasonable, sustainable number, it wouldn't be so bad, but overpopulation is the root cause for the current state of affairs.
Anyway, I have always found primates a little scary in their similarity to us. And greed is not what drives animals to want to enlarge their territories or take over another male's harem; it is simply their instinct to procreate and promote their own genes.
Greed is a human invention.
Nowadays, good zoos are life preservers for endangered species. Freedom comes at the price of early death; captivity means longer (and usually) healthier lives for the animals there. Still, it is not a nice sight to see any animal in capitivity, no matter how generous and well designed their living quarters are.
Thanks everyone.
I'm late to the party... But Pat i'am not a fan of Zoos either.. Or circus' or places like SeaWorld... They are good for only 2 things... The first being , bring your average every day person in contact with these animals for if you don't you will never make them love these animals.. and care what happens to them and want to protect them.. they are an ambassador in some respects... and the other would be if the Zoo had a good breeding program of the endangered animals.. where they bred them and then returned some to the wild.. saving a species.. Those are my thoughts on the subject.. I hate to see them imprisoned too and not free and wild.. Hugs! deb
Not a fan of Zoos but here in Tucson we have a few that are used for animals saving and education.
woofs from the square ones !
I don't like Zoos or Circuses. When I see a photo of a gorilla, chimpanzee or orang-utang I always feel slightly uncomfortable. I can't help thinking that they know more than we do!
Merry Christmas ! 🎄❄️☃️💐 xxx
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