Could elephants and chimps live together in the same zoo exhibit?

I pose this question because it is an element of my novel The Menagerie: A Zoo Story (https://www.createspace.com/3803108 ). In my imaginary zoo, I created an imaginary exhibit that houses chimpanzees and elephants together – in the same space. It was very satisfying to conceptualize this because, in some ways, I actually began to believe my own fiction.

As a long-time zoo director, I think I know the answer and doubt that I would have the courage to actually try it. But I am already getting questions from my readers about the feasibility.

Here is an excerpt:

The screams were deafening in the confines of the indoor arena that had been used for introductions. Jack the young chimp was clearly terrified, despite the two weeks of gradual introductions, and the elephant Bebe was not responding well. She fanned her ears and lunged at him as he cowered along the wall. He attempted to grab and bite the end of her trunk, which made her even angrier.

“If anyone was going to get into it, it would be these two,” said Chelsea.

“I hope we don’t have to use the fire extinguishers on them,” said Janice. She was referring to the two, large Carbon Dioxide extinguishers that would spew a cloud of white powder in a loud woosh. Animals generally found them terrifying. Janice Fredricks was the training manager who had been working on the animals introductions over the past few weeks. The other animals had adapted fairly well and had gradually settled into a peaceful coexistence, choosing, for the most part, to remain separate.

Jack began to run along the wall as he looked back screaming. This seemed to prompt Bebe to give chase, trumpeting as she ran. She caught him with the end of her trunk and punched him forward. As he lay sprawled in the dirt, temporarily stunned and silent, she loomed over him. Chelsea and Janice held their breath. Bebe sniffed him with her trunk, lingering over his genitals, and then calmly walked away.

And later …

… her thoughts were interrupted by one of the chimps emerging from the forest below her. It was Jack and he was on a collision course with Bebe the elephant. They were both moving toward feeding stations in opposite directions, but their paths were about to cross. Chelsea held her breath, bracing for the encounter that was about to happen. Jack looked up startled and rose up for a better look. Bebe also stopped, and then walked toward the chimp in her path. Jack stood his ground and as the elephant drew near, she sniffed his genitals.

Billy Scales was nearby but outside the barrier and powerless to act.

Chelsea sat up in her chair in astonishment and Don turned to see what had captured her attention. Suddenly, as if choreographed, Bebe grabbed jack around his middle with her trunk and threw him up on her back. He sat for a moment in surprise before settling down to enjoy the ride. Bebe ambled down the path with the chimp on her back.

So my question is this. How conceivable is it to have chimps and elephants living together and interacting with each other on their own accord? Is it preposterous or too dangerous? Has it ever been tried anywhere? Might it be tried in some future zoo?

Another rabbit tale

Another rabbit story and this one does not have a happy ending.

From: SPIEGEL ONLINE International – 3/19/2012

The German zoo that owned Til, the rare baby rabbit born without ears who was tragically stepped on by a cameraman last Wednesday, has been offered a number of replacement earless rabbits.

But the director of the zoo in the small eastern town of Limbach-Oberfrohna, Uwe Dempewolf, told SPIEGEL ONLINE on Monday that he will decline all offers because it would be insensitive to accept them.

"We've had four or five offers from private breeders who heard about this regrettable event but we won't accept any, we're just going to carry on," said Dempewolf. "We'd be criticized if we simply said let's just take another one."

The death of Til was widely reported in the German and international media. It has come as no consolation to anyone that his posthumous fame is almost certainly greater than if he hadn't been stepped on.

Til, a cute, happy, ginger and black domestic rabbit who is survived by five siblings with ears, was being filmed by a camera team ahead of his presentation at a news conference on Thursday that the small zoo had hoped would make him a celebrity like Knut, Berlin's polar bear star, or Heidi, Leipzig Zoo's cross-eyed opossum, both dead.

The cameraman who killed him has only been named as Sascha D. Newspapers have refrained from giving his full name. Dempewolf said the zoo would not be seeking any compensation from the distraught man. "He's unhappy enough as it is," he said.

Sascha D. explained how the accident happened. "I was crouching down, took a step back and noticed I was standing on something," he told the Chemnitzer Morgenpost newspaper. "I'm so sorry."

Til's body is in a freezer and will be stuffed and exhibited at the zoo, which still has some 200 animals.

Dempewolf expressed surprise at the offers of earless rabbits he had received since Til's death. "They don't seem to be that rare, some mothers are over-attentive at birth and accidentally nibble their babies' ears off. Or it can be a genetic defect like with ours. There was no wound on Til's head."

The tabloid newspaper Bild featured a photo of a grey bunny with no ears and very large paws that a breeder from the village of Niederdorf in Saxony had offered the zoo.

The tragedy occurred a few days ahead of the first anniversary of the death of polar bear Knut, one year ago on March 19, 2011. The Berlin Zoo is being criticized by Knut fans for failing to hold a ceremony to mark the event.

Zoo director Bernhard Blaszkiewitz dismissed their sorrow with words that some might describe as harsh. Bild on Monday quoted him as saying: "You mourn people, not animals!" It is a sentiment very many people will disagree with.

So, How about it? Do we mourn animals? Anyone who has lost a beloved pet sure does.

And what was that camera man doing in an animal cage without someone watching the rabbits for him?

Gorillas and Bunnies

I was struck by a news report this week out of Erie, PA:

An elderly gorilla that lives at a Pennsylvania zoo has a new companion: a bunny named Panda. The Erie Zoo’s gorilla, Samantha, has been without a full-time friend since the death of Rudy, a male gorilla, in 2005. But officials say the 47-year-old western lowland gorilla is too old to be paired with another gorilla. So they opted last month to introduce her to Panda, a Dutch rabbit, last month. The Erie Times-News reports Samantha and Panda get along well. Samantha will gently scratch under the bunny’s chin and share her food. Officials at the zoo say Samantha has always had a gentle personality. She was hand-raised and was more comfortable around humans even when Rudy was alive.

If you have been reading my book, The Menagerie: A Zoo Story, you will recognize a familiar premise – different species living together in harmony. In my imaginary zoo, I have elephants and chimpanzees living together. This seems far-fetched until you read about Samantha the Gorilla and her “pet” bunny. I’ll be interested to hear what some of my zoo colleagues think about the idea of elephants and chimps getting along. I think it is possible and I think it would be rewarding for the animals, but I doubt if anyone (myself included) would have the courage to try it in real life. Zoos are under intense public scrutiny and if anything went wrong, the criticism and headlines would be intense.

What do you think? 

African Safari

I'm spending a rainy day in Albany thinking about a May safari to Tanzania.  Twelve days in the Serengeti, sure wish Karen could go with me.  Not only will we see wildlife in the Ngorongoro Crater, but we will also go to Olduvai Gorge to visit the cradle of mankind.  Arrangements will be provided by World Discovery Safaris.  This will be my 4th trip to Africa, but the first time to Tanzania and the first time with a group from Chehaw.

My first novel is finally in print - sort of. I am self-publishing (in the old days we called this "vanity press") through an online service and it will be available through createspace.com and Amazon. It is still in the Proof stage, but I wanted to establish a website (www.jdporterbooks.com) that is still being created and this blog. Stay tuned for further updates.