Holidays 2007
Joe enjoying treats on Christmas Eve 2007
Oliver's holiday decorations were a bit more
elaborate than Joe's, but both boys enjoyed their goodies!
"FrankenBari" with staples down the front of his
neck, at home 2 days after his surgery.
Bari, seen above and below, in his role as guest
welcome puppy!
Just before Thanksgiving we re-homed two of our outdoor rescued dogs – the Nutty Boys, Peanut and Walnut (photo right). Walnut showed up tipping the testosterone scales and making the dog pack too dangerous for the cats, given Peanut’s rambunctious nature. Both dogs were re-homed thanks to the local animal rescuers, Second Chance Animal Sanctuary (SCAS). We were down to “only” 11 dogs and peace reigned for a couple of weeks, which we knew wouldn’t last.
Unfortunately, Walnut was returned to us just after Christmas, after he didn’t work out at his new home. So he’s awaiting transport to New Jersey in a month or so, where a family awaits him who can give him the love and attention he needs and deserves. He's a really sweet and smart dog, who needs more attention than we can give him here. While he's back at GH, Walnut and Rosie are kept separate from the main yard, and join Maddy and Pip in the Kennel Yard for dinner and overnights.
While we were away, the rest of the dogs surprised us and attacked kitty Yogi, which still makes no sense to me. Fortunately our critter-sitter, Joy, was able to get to Yogi on time and he's recuperating slowly, after what must have been a scary time for my poor baby. I have a hunch the dogs were on squirrel patrol and Yogi was someplace he usually doesn't go, so he was mistaken for a squirrel, since usually the dogs and cats eat/sleep and play together. We can't blame Wally on this one either, since he wasn't around!
Flier for the Nutty Boys.
Yogi, resting in his cat condo inside the cabin, where he's recovering slowly but surely, thankfully.
Oliver yawning and scratching
Oliver with a coconut
Oliver and goats in a "snowstorm"
But with the winter upon us, it’s been a year since we first noticed his hair plucking, and it could be related to the winter-blues. I visited Oliver just after a rare snow, and he came out to the viewing window when he saw my car, with Mama and Baby in hot pursuit, hoping for some treats. I went inside the villa and offered Oliver some fruit juice and sat with him for a while. As this video shows, he’s relaxed but his scratching and yawning …does he look bored to you? Gorillas in captivity often look bored or sad, when they’re not and I can usually tell the difference. We’re upping the enrichment and changing up Oliver’s routine – closing doors in his villa that are usually left open, for example, so he has to change his route. But until he can be with other gorillas, this will be an on-going challenge. The two photos show Oliver with a coconut and running outside after a snow storm (about 10 flakes fell, which meant all schools and stores were closed, since Fannin County isn't used to snow!), with Mama and Baby in hot pursuit!
Oliver being groomed by his mom, ca. 1990 (photo
courtesy T. Parkes)
P.S. we have just learned that Tunuka, Oliver's mom, passed away peacefully in her sleep February 2, 2008, at the Louisville Zoo. May she rest in peace.
Beautiful Tunuka. Portrait taken in 2004 by her
caregiver, Roby Elsner
This Gorilla Workshop was hosted by the Brevard Zoo and Disney's Animal Kingdom, held in Orlando.
Kelly did an awesome job talking about how we're trying to keep Oliver happy and challenged during his time away from other gorillas.
Kelly's presentation was very well received and most everyone at the workshop agreed they couldn't tell it was her first time giving a talk. For me it was fun seeing old friends and putting faces to names from email contacts. It's a "catch 22" situation for Oliver, since he's in the best place possible for a lone, deaf young silverback, but we also continually remind the decision makers he needs/deserves to be with other gorillas, and if that can't be at Gorilla Haven, then perhaps at another zoo.
Steuart flew home on Saturday to check on Yogi. Kelly and I stayed for the entire workshop, which ended at a dinner at Disney's Animal Kingdom on Sunday night. As we were driving home on Monday, Frank Rietkerk, the head of the EEP (the European version of the SSP, or species survival plan for gorillas) drove up from Atlanta for a whirlwind tour of Gorilla Haven, given by Steuart and Pete. Frank only stayed about an hour, but at least now he knows a little about what everyone has been talking about, since many of his colleagues at Apenheul Primate Park in Holland have visited us.
After the Gorilla Workshop we had houseguests from England and Cameroon visit. Brian and David work at Howletts where Pete Halliday worked, so that was fun. They had rented a car and agreed to drive Jeta James Fowah from CWAF (Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund) to Gorilla Haven for a quick visit. I then drove Jeta back to Atlanta, stopping by Harry's Farmer's Market in Marietta, to show Jeta where some of the donations we'd sent to CWAF originated. Harry's eat-in restaurant is called "Joe's Cafe" after our Joe, and it will be decorated with photos of Joe and Oliver in the near future, but for now the new sign is up, seen in the photo of Jeta with Matt, of Harry's. Then I delivered Jeta to Charles Horton of Zoo Atlanta, who had arranged for Jeta to give a talk to staff about CWAF, before he continues on his tour of the USA, visiting other zoos before returning to Cameroon.
David and Brian from Howletts with Jeta on top of GH Group Building
Jeta with Matt at Joe's Cafe at Harry's Whole Food Market
Skye, Kathy and Kelly.
On the way back from Florida, Kelly and I made a small detour to stop by Kathy's house in Lakeland. She was supposed to come to part of the Gorilla Workshop, but her van had engine troubles again, rendering her stuck at home, alone with her service dog, Skye. She has about half what she needs to buy a new van, thanks to the generosity of many, but has had to rack up credit card debts to pay for repairs on her current van, whose troubles are literally life threatening. Just before Christmas, the brakes went out!! Luckily, she had just turned into a parking lot and was able to run up over a curb to stop without hurting anyone or anything. No mechanic wanted to help, since they're afraid of the van's computerized driving system, so again, she was stuck.
In typical Kathy fashion, she remarked how lucky she is - that her van's brakes failed not on Interstate highway 4, as she drives to/from work five times a week - but in a parking lot where no one was hurt. Her son, David, was out of town being tested to see if he is eligible for a kidney transplant, so she was home alone, without transport, and was thrilled to see Kelly and me, even for only a short time. Skye was "off duty" and outside playing with her toys, which was the first time I'd seen her so playful, since she takes her job as Kathy's service dog very seriously. Kathy was in rare form, laughing and joking, as if she didn't have a care in the world. She's an inspiration and role model to anyone lucky enough to know her. If you can help her, or know anyone who could help get her a reliable, working van so she can continue to work to support herself and her family, please contact me. To read more about Kathy, click here.
That's me with Skye and Kathy.
Jane's Blog: Givers & Takers (written 23Dec07)
“But remember that people throw stones on trees that have fruits. If a tree doesn't have fruit, no one will throw a stone on it.”
I am tired.
I am discouraged.
I am disheartened at the politics involving animal welfare and conservation – indeed involving people everywhere.
I feel like a Giver outnumbered by a world of Takers. The more I give, the more is demanded, and I’m just tapped out. (Read my friend, Daniel Quinn’s book “Ishmael” for more on the “Taker and Leaver” philosophy of the world.).
Watch TV and laugh at the antics of rich, spoiled, self-absorbed, vacant bimbos and brats. Or watch suffering people going thru hell, so you feel better about yourself. It’s a sick voyeurism, where bad behavior and ethics are rewarded.
Many people still don’t seem to “get” what Gorilla Haven is all about or why we’re doing what we’re doing. After all, why would we spend millions on a project like this, if it’s not to garner attention for my needy ego, which needs to thrive in the spotlight? I’m that silly, frivolous gorilla nut collecting gorilla info, like an idiot savant. I’m a handy resource of information when it’s convenient, but otherwise easy to discount and dismiss.
In this context, I am trying to re-evaluate things to start a new year with the hope and encouragement I want it to have. I’m looking for the strength to continue to endure snubs, barbs, insults and challenges so I can continue to make a difference in the lives of gorillas and people I care about. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like I matter at all.
Then I get an email from a man I’ve never met. He lives in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa) where a brutal, hideous war has been raging for decades. Human rights are non existent, as people including women and children are raped and mutilated routinely. Gorillas, whose habitats have been destroyed, are now being killed for spite by rebels fighting a war only they understand. They slaughter each other and anything around them for charcoal, for coltan (used in cell phones), for diamonds and for spite, in classic a Taker mentality, of greed and short-sightedness. As if the Cosmos were adding its own irony, Ebola, AIDS and other diseases are adding to these unthinkable tragedies.
I call this young man, my “brother from another mother,” although he's young enough to be my son. He has been fighting to protect his country’s unique and highly endangered wildlife from decimation for years. Resisting pressures to join the thugs, he knows the real value of the DRC lays in its people, its wildlife and its environment, so he continues his struggle, against the odds. As our emails began to include more personal details of our lives, I emailed him a photo collage of me holding babies of each of the 4 great ape species (gorilla, bonobo, chimpanzee and orangutan).
He replied: “I am … proud that God/nature made a plan that brought 3 of the 4 great apes in my country. I am grateful also for the efforts my grand parents did preserve them for that we can see them. This is why my colleagues and I are working hard to preserve them for the future generations, too.”
He and his colleagues are also a rare and endangered species: True Givers. They give and their rewards are small victories for the future, instead of instant gratification of the here and now. And just like other endangered species, they deserve our respect and our protection.
During our new year’s greetings, I thanked my brother and his colleagues for doing the important work on the front lines of conservation, mentioning how I often feel like my efforts here in the mountains of North Georgia have little to no meaning at all.
He emailed me these encouraging words:
“But remember that people throw stones on trees that have fruits. If a tree doesn't have fruit, no one will throw a stone on it.”
When I read this, I was hit by its subtle yet powerful message: Givers are like fruit trees. They have something Takers want, so they throw stones at them, hoping to get more from the Giver to take for themselves.
Takers are like the trees with no fruit. They won’t attack another Taker, since the Taker doesn’t have anything to give them. Givers are never understood or appreciated by Takers.
Most reading this blog are probably Givers, who care. So when it seems we’re a small minority, an endangered species like my beloved gorillas, I must remember, that Givers are the only hope for the future. Leading by example, perhaps we can teach others that there is more to life than keeping scores and gathering things. If we leave the world better than we found it, there will be a future for our children’s children. If Takers continue to take unchecked and unchallenged, the future will be uncertain, at best.
Jane Dewar, 23 December 2007
Gorillas slaughtered for
naught,
July 2007 (Photo from internet)