It’s Not My Mountain ….Now it’s OUR Mountain!

by Jane Dewar, 03Jan2002

The notion of “owning” land, people or animals is an odd concept to me. I must be part Native American in my thinking, since I believe we don’t ‘own’ land or animals, but act as stewards, guarding and protecting them from others with more self-serving purposes.  Still, this belief isn’t shared with Uncle Sam and so we pay our taxes based on the land and property we ‘own’ and in 2002 our tax bill will be a bit higher, since the Gorilla Haven property is now 324 acres!  I should spend some time at the assessor’s office, but we must be one of the largest non-commercial land owners in Fannin County.  The recent acreage we purchased is largely unbuildable, from a practical point of view, but thinking of it as more buffering and more land to remain untouched for future generations makes Steuart and I very happy.

There’s a development across the street from GH called “My Mountain” which creates some confusion when people visit.  We have many friends on “My Mountain” and often drive over, since the best views of the southern face of Paris Mountain are seen from there (see photo above left).  The additional 36 acres we just purchased are on the other side of Paris Mountain, unseen from “My Mountain” but steeply descending into the Cutcane Valley below on the northern side.

Initially nothing could be seen of the GH project from outside our property – even the views from “My Mountain” revealed nothing … until the pine beetles did their damage (see Pine Beetles Update).  While we thought some of the Great Wall of Morganton or Silverback Villa might show up with the loss of so many evergreens, we were all shocked to see just how much the loss of these trees did!  (See photo above left - just as we started the camouflage painting).   So we quickly started experimenting with painting the Great Wall of Morganton in various camouflage colors (photo right) and until the weather turned really cold, we seem to be on the right track (see photo below left, after two more days into the painting project).  Hopefully our continuing major re-planting project this fall and spring will get new trees growing quickly, but for now, we’re working with Mother Nature and some old time ingenuity.  For future villas and buildings, we might go to a different color from the light beige now used on Silverback Villa and other existing buildings – a darker one which will blend in more with the camouflage look we’re seeking to help while nature recovers.

The details of Silverback Villa are coming into place too, as the electronic doors (with manual overrides in case of power failures where the backup generators also fail) are now working, the inside gorilla stairs are installed, and details like window installation around the Great Wall continue.  The new maintenance building is going up fast and dead tree removal continues in other areas of the GH property, in the hopes we can eliminate further pine beetle destruction and loss of so many wonderful trees.  The weather has turned colder, so we’ll be working on more inside jobs (yes, that plumber still eludes us!).

Meanwhile, I was reviewing some previous updates and am frustrated we still don’t have a concrete arrival date of our first gorilla resident, but we continue to move ahead and progress is being made, albeit much slower than any of us had hoped for or planned.  Many US zoos do not have AZA accreditation and while we may have a gorilla here before our AZA accreditation is achieved, preparing for this daunting task means other things are taking longer than we initially thought. We have to run new power lines to our Vet Building to handle the X-ray machine that will now be permanently installed there. There’s a list of potential candidates who would be here now, if we were ready, and so we all push ahead on a slow but steady course to reach our goal.  When frustration we’re not ready gets to me, I just remind myself that we’ve only been here in North Georgia for 5 years and in that time what we have accomplished is miraculous and impressive.  The next 5 years promise to be even more so …

As 2002 begins and the shock and sadness of recent events remain in our hearts and minds, I take comfort in the small things life gives us.  Crombie, the C.A.T. of GH (Chief Attitude Trainer) turns 18 in March – an amazing milestone, given how many times she’s allegedly been on death’s door and her life as an outdoor cat, which included 13 Chicago winters (Crombie on the right, before both her ears were surgically removed due to cancer).  I know her time is limited and I treasure every moment.  The dogs now know chasing Crombie is a big “no” (which results my ‘ugly’ voice of reprimand!) and Crombie is now venturing over to the cabin during the day to mingle with the other dogs and cats, knowing if I’m there, there’s nothing to fear.  This trust is an honor I treasure – especially recalling the Humane Society I took Crombie to in 1985 who told me she was too feral and should be put down, since there was no chance she’d ever be domesticated.  Crombie teaches me there is hope even when it seems hopeless – even to professionals.  She’s my oldest friend (besides Steuart!) and each day with her is a blessing.

Then the newest life at GH, our Julicat, continues to grow in size and personality.  She seems to genuinely believe the entire world is here for her enjoyment and pleasure, and the few times she hears the word “no”, she’s convinced I’ve made an error, since how could I or anyone else deny her something?  Her cautious confidence and playful, loving demeanor are a privilege to watch grow and she’s the source of many laughs and good feelings daily.  Watching her discover the almost frozen Lake Bwindi, as she follows Benny and Cali Philamina walking across the patches of ice, gives me mini heart attacks, but like any good 'parent' I know she must figure out some things for herself.  So when she falls into the icy waters by the shore and quickly scampers out, I'm there to reassure her and dry her off, hoping she'll soon tire of her ice scooting game! The photo on the left inset in the top left corner, was Julicat on 28Sep01 when she came to live at GH, preferring my slipper as a cozy place to take a catnap.  The main photo left shows Julicat and her old slipper today ... how she grows!

Finally, we had a lovely "thank you" note from our friends at Tacugama in Sierra Leone.  A picture's worth a thousand words!

Here’s hoping 2002 will see an improvement in the lives of all God’s creatures in the Circle of Life of which we are all an integral part.