Fishing Cormorants at a Turn of the Century Zoo

This 128 page booklet is a guidebook of a "Jardin Zoologique d'Acclimatation" or Zoological Garden for Acclimatization, for a zoo just west of Paris, France. The site was at the Bois de Boulogne Park, an enormous Park of 2,000 acres that was established in 1859. During the Middle Ages, it was an immense oak forest, and, during the period of royalty, it had been a hunting reserve.

The booklet was published in 1902, and at that time, the zoo boasted many animals, from alpaca to zebra. It had monkeys, elephants, parrots, kangaroos, otters, tapirs, pelicans, yak, and pheasants. It also boasted a hunting and fishing museum, a "glass house" of 160 feet x 70 feet by 45 feet tall for tropical plants, and an aquarium.

One of the rarest animals discussed was the giraffe. At the time, there were only 45 animals in Europe. Equal praise was given for the pygmy goat from Africa, and a myriad of chicken, turkey, pigeon, and peafowl breeds.

What was so unique about the Jardin Zoologique was the focus on domestic species and the domestication of the wild ones. Nearly every species was interpreted as to the benefit to mankind. There was a lot of work being done with training and "domestication" (although this requires a genetic selection that takes many generations).

For example, the cover shows a finely dressed family going for a ride on an elephant, with a horse and rider escort (the Park had a stable with 250 horses). On the back of the booklet is another image of two riders on a muzzled camel.

There was discussion of research on the domestication of the ostrich in Algeria, for its feathers, and the fact that the zebra was a good candidate for raising in Africa, because it was resistant to the Tse-Tse fly. The zoo had zebra that they had tamed and worked.

Nearly every animal at the Jardin Zoologique was available for sale, and listed in the guide. The public was directed to the main office (which they could enter without going through the zoo proper) to purchase stock. Most of the animals sold were domestic birds, as the zoo hatched eggs under setting hens in a factory-type enterprise

On the grounds was also a "one stop shopping" hardware store that sold all types of agriculture supplies and equipment such as wheelbarrows, harnesses, gardening tools, incubators, and fencing.

The most interesting tidbit from this old guide was that the Jardin Zoologique had a daily show of fishing cormorants. Apparently, this ancient fishing technique was a sport of the French kings, but had gone out of favor. At the time of the zoo, only some amateurs practiced the sport, although it was acknowledged that it was actually an ancient Chinese practice. The cormorants had a ring on their necks, and they were so well trained that they would fly from a distance to deposit the fish caught, for a small reward.

Today, the Jardin Zoologique is a children's amusement park, with pony rides, a small train, a mini-zoo, and a children's museum and theater. The beautiful Bois d'Boulogne Park is still popular with Parisians and tourists.

Bonobo: Do You Know Me?

I am Bonobo. I'm only an ape... And You're Only Human.

How did you first learn about bonobo? Was it from "Bonobo" the name of a Japanese dub band, "Bonobo" the name of a fashionable clothing company, or "Bonobo" the name of a vegetarian restaurant in New York City?

We asked the question -- Where did you first learn about bonobos? -- from our blog visitors. Of 17 responses, 65% said that they learned about the species from a friend or colleague. Twenty-nine percent said that they knew about bonobos from a zoo visit. Only one individual, six percent, discovered bonobos online.

Amazingly, no one claimed that they had learned about bonobos from the media, the fourth choice. It is too bad that there is so little information about this species that may turn out to be our closest genetic relative and that has many human like behaviors. Or, is it those very "peacemaking" behaviors that make the bonobo taboo for the general press?

It may be up to us to spread the word about bonobos.

Photo of Molaso, in Zaire, D. Messinger

Super-Snake, Super-Weapon

This was a hybrid viper I kept in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In September 1991, civilians and military went on a rampage, and when the worst had settled down, the French sent their troops in to see what had happened to the facility where I lived and worked. It was very late at night, but I agreed to tour them around. From Grains of Golden Sand:

"Their commander admired my AIDS sign at the entrance but seemed reluctant to leave France’s ten-million-dollar facility in untrained hands.

“Oh, sir,” I said, “maybe I'd better clarify. You haven't heard about my super-weapon?”

“No,” the chief gave a Gaelic shrug. “Can you show us?”

“I'd be delighted.”

“Just make my day,” I thought as I walked over to a big plastic container hidden in the courtyard recesses. “I have these things scattered at strategic locations, including my apartment. You'll have to gather around to see.”

"The contents of the blue tub were impossible to discern, and the officials and soldiers eagerly crowded close. I was standing over the cage, a hooked metal pole in hand.

“Oh, a little closer,” I coaxed. They inched in, bunching together.

“Okay, please don't be scared,” I said. With one hand, I slid open the screen top and smoothly hooked out, at eye level, an enormous viper.

“Behold, my super-weapon!”

"The mass of men recoiled in unison as if choreographed. Collective squawks, curses (Merde! Putain! La vache!), whoops, shouts, and whistles greeted the sight. An exaggerated ophidian phobia kept some men reeling backward until they nearly toppled down the shallow courtyard steps.

"I stood there holding the viper that was balancing angrily on the thin metal of the snake-hook. She hung there, hissing with the slow suck-in and forced exhalation of a creature sublimely calm with deadliness. The bolder military rank and file gravitated closer while the others circled warily in the background.

“Don't be afraid. She can't strike you at this distance,” I assured them. “She can't even reach me.”

"Fascinated by this impromptu natural history lesson, the men ogled and asked a dozen questions. I explained that the snake was still quite deadly, as it was cruel to remove the venomous glands. African vipers are hazardous to pin and hold by the head, as experienced herpetologists will attest, because they have the longest fangs in snakedom. These hollow teeth are independently suspension-operated and can reach back to inject a careless thumb. However, with heavy bodies and sluggish temperaments, vipers can easily be contained on snake hooks.

"This beauty was unique, a cross between the Gabon and rhinoceros viper. I had collected her in the bush three years earlier, and the local villagers admitted that they'd never before seen such a snake. Unlike a typical viper, she had never settled down in captivity and bluffed loudly and dramatically any time that she was disturbed. The epitome of hybrid vigor, she was always ravenous, and always pissed off. A perfect super-weapon.

Zoo Team for Marine Mammal Rescue

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has been ramping up its conservation projects over the past several years. One of the more unique efforts has been developed from the interest and passion of the zoo's Mammal Curator, Craig Miller.

Two years, ago, a meeting between Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the zoo's animal dept was held to float the idea of a zoo based team of volunteers for helping with manatee, whale, dolphin and other related incidents.

The idea was accepted with enthusiasm because the state had few volunteers, and there were times when the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's Marine Mammal Research Program officials were strapped for manpower. Most importantly, they appreciated the thought of a group of people who already had a basic knowledge of animal capture (how to be safe!), animal transport, and animal biology.

With training, the zoo's Marine Mammal team quickly showed its ability to identify species, collect data on deceased animals, and transport critically ill or injured animals to the captive rehabilitation centers. The zoo now has a permanent team of 40 staff -- all full-time employees, from different departments, although the majority are zookeepers.

The arrangement between the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and the FWC is a win-win situation. Zoo volunteers have been able to participate in training and research field trips all over the state, as a "perk" to their jobs. There is so much passion for the project that most of the volunteers do their work on their days off, although sometimes employees are allowed to take time during the work day.

The first photograph shows four zoo staff in their project T-shirts on a FCW manatee research boat and the second is of the successful netting of a juvenile manatee. Staff volunteers love that they are making a direct, hands-on contribution to conservation and meanwhile, collaboration with the state officials continues to evolve.

Photos by Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens/FWC

Preparing Snails

This village woman was delighted when I said that I would love to try the snail meat that she was cutting up with a machete in a wooden trough. From Grains of Golden Sand:

"I once spent a few days in a remote village just north of the Zaire River, 50 miles west of Lisala. It was March, which happened to be snail season. All other activities were put on hold while villagers frantically harvested the giant forest snail.

"The people had laboriously hauled water into the now seasonally dry wetlands and made a kind of mud bait, which was spread about to attract the snails. Men, women, and children collected the six inch long gastropods and hauled them by the thousands back to the village.

"Live snails were packed and sold to passing river traffic for resale in the capital, and many were consumed on the spot. I was treated to a meal of forest escargot---cleaned with citrus juice, minced fine, and fried in palm oil with onion, hot red peppers and lots of garlic. Finger-lickin’ good!"

Grand Menagerie: Great Moral Exhibition

Always fascinated by zoos, I have collected zoo memorabilia for many years. It is interesting to see how attitudes about wild animals have followed the social, economical, religious, and political mood of the time. One of my older pieces is a 32 page booklet, dated 1872, titled Grand Menagerie and Great Moral Exhibition. The only locale given is Albany, N.Y. The introduction is about natural history:

“It teaches man his superiority over the brute creation, and creates in his bosom a knowledge of the wisdom and goodness and omnipresence of a Supreme and All-wise Creator."

It goes on to say that the owners spent enormous sums of money, and took great risks to assemble the animals from all over the world (and they ask for a remuneration which the visitor will be doubly repaid):

The booklet describes the elephant, lion, the Thibet (sic) bear, black bear, leopard, zebra, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, dromedary camel, badger, and the peacock. The giraffe is noted to be “one of the rarest quadrupeds in the menagerie”. Obviously from personal experience, there is an explanation of the capture of Asian elephants and the work of a lion and tiger tamer who “fearlessly enters the cages belonging to this long-established Menagerie”.

Other observations in Menagerie:

“Here we have another variety of Tiger, different entirely, however, from the Royal Bengal in habits, appearance and strength. For a long time after the capture of this animal, the people could not acknowledge him as a tiger. They were willing to admit him as a Jaguar or big Leopard, but it was hard to introduce him as a Tiger with spots on. He is not of the right stripe for a Tiger; but we can assure our friends that he is a legitimate tiger and nothing else.

"A Menagerie would be incomplete without its cages of Monkeys. People love to see the nimble, playful creatures—those miniature men—in their ludicrous antics. In their native woods they are not less the pest of man than of other animals. The Monkeys are in possession of every forest where they reside, and may be considered as masters of the place: there is but one animal in all the forest that ventures to oppose them, and that is the Serpent.”

What is interesting about old zoo guidebooks is how far zoos have evolved from the 1800’s. The one thing that seems to be the same is that the goal of the Menagerie’s document is to educate the public and education is still the mission of modern zoos.

What is different, with the sophistication of technology, is the collective management of animals that uses genetic modeling to ensure viable captive populations. Also, with the rate of extinction of wild species and the loss of habitats, zoos are focusing on protecting wildlife and their environment, something that was an unknown concept during the time of the Menagerie.

Bonobos Love Water

This is Lucy, a young bonobo at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, showing two characteristics for the species -- an upright walk and an attraction to water. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), villagers comment on bonobo's human like stance and their propensity for entering shallow waterways.

In captivity, bonobos enjoy a water moat for the enrichment that it provides. They stalk the wildlife that lives there, such as fish, turtles, insects, and snakes, and they consume the aquatic plants that grow in the shallows. They dig in the mud, cool off, wash their toys, and drink water off of soaked or dipped items. They launch floating objects like boats, and then go in after them. They sink other things and then recover them. They soak cloth in the water and then drape the wet material over themselves.

Lucy demonstrates another benefit of the zoo's moat as she wades out of the water, with a monkey biscuit in hand. She has soaked it to soften its hardness to a consistency that is much more appetizing to eat.

Photo by M. Brickner

Marriage Divorce Cloth

This purple, red and blue cloth is a sly visual commentary on the social situation of marriage and divorce in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). From the 90's, the bold pattern is of rope, with the knots of marriage and the broken threads of divorce. Men and women both wore this type of material that was made into clothing by tailors with foot pedaled sewing machines.

Women wore full length skirts with matching blouses, with as many ruffles, pleats, and embroidery decoration as possible. Men (the husband) often wore the same material as a shirt, and the joke was, one knew who were the couples by what they wore. Additionally, as the joke continued, if one (or the other) became too inebriated at a social gathering, they could locate each other by finding the matching design.

Bonobo "Yoga" Pose

At the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Lucy seems to be putting her leg out in a bizarre kind of dance. She is more likely lounging on her mom, Lorel, while contorting her body as a sort of play. Young bonobos, like all apes, and humans, need proper maternal care to develop parental skills themselves.

Photo by M. Brickner

Kids Book on Bonobos!

The bonobo is the least known species of ape in the world and there are only a handful of books written about them. Recently, a new book for children has been published. It is called I'm Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo, by Mathea Levine, with photographs by Marian Brickner.

Already, the book has been picked up by an after-school literacy program in New York where 5,000 children will learn about Lucy, who lives with her family at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. The story line follows her being comforted by Lorel, her mother, babysat by Lexi, her aunt, and playing with Kaleb, a half brother. She climbs and swings, eats, plays with her toes, and ends up getting goodnight kisses.

Jane Goodall wrote the afterword for parents: "Clearly, bonobos need our help if they are to survive in Africa.... The authors wisely use very few words, leaving the wonderful pictures to speak for themselves."

I'm Lucy is not just about bonobos -- the authors have an interactive website and blog for children that connects learning about bonobos to ongoing environmental issues. Profits from I'm Lucy will go to Bonobo Conservation Initiative and Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots, if purchased from their site at http://www.bonobokids.org/. For the blog, www.bonobokids.com/blog.

Christmas Cops in Kinshasa

My truck Texas has just arrived from the market. Mayolo is on the left on the tailgate and Innocent, the driver is on the right. I am in the back with Lupangu. One of the funniest stories I ever remember is when Mayolo and Innocent ran up against a false traffic arrest. As told in Grains of Golden Sand:

"Christmas was nearing and the small gang of cops clustered on the sidelines under a convenient tree wanted “bonuses.” December was known as a free-for-all for con artists and it was a risky month for law-abiding citizens.

Dutifully, Innocent pulled out the registration papers and his driver’s license. “Oh, no!” Mayolo declared. “Hold on a minute. This car is the work vehicle of the famous INRB.” (Not true, and Texas didn’t have the government license plates to prove it.) A weak ploy that didn’t wash with the gendarmes.

Politely, Innocent tried to explain that he had broken no law while Mayolo fumed in the seat next to him. “Well, we are on duty for our boss who works at the INRB!” Mayolo spouted. This took them aback: it was clear that Mayolo was wearing the white smock with a red cross insignia, often worn as identification by medical workers. That was a good counter, but the policeman—backed by his brood of fellow extortionists homing in for the kill—said that one of the officers would have to accompany the truck to jail where Innocent would have to pay “restitution.”

Suddenly, the passenger door flew open and Mayolo leaped out of Texas. Without a backward glance, white tails flying, he strode up the block, shouting, “They’ve arrested a poor work-truck of the INRB! We poor workers are going to lose our jobs! We work for a famous doctor! We have done nothing wrong! Our truck has been arrested!”

On and on Mayolo proclaimed, building steam as he went. Startled, the officers watched him march boldly down the sidewalk, singing his litany of hideous torture at the hands of the cruel and terrible forces that hammered downtrodden workers.

It was a masterful counter-bluff. The traffic goons had merely their numbers and their powers of intimidation. Against Mayolo’s rage, they were chaff in the wind. They had not one weapon, car, motorcycle, handcuffs, radio, or telephone. They couldn’t call in reinforcements, and they were just a little afraid of the strange apparition working himself into a spittle-flying frenzy.

“Nothing! Nothing! We’ve done nothing wrong! We’re workers of the state! A truck of the state! How can they do this to us?”

Mayolo crossed to the other side of the street and continued his diatribe at the top of his considerable baritone. Pedestrians shortened their stride and swerved to avoid him. Others, curious, turned and stared as he passed. Shopkeepers came to the front of their stores and peered out to see what was happening. Passing cars slowed and honked.

At first the cops tried to ignore Mayolo. They turned back to the task at hand and put the screws to Innocent who sat obdurately in the car. A few drifted back to their original modus operandi and continued fishing for other small infraction-committing fry. Mayolo, however, was just warming up. Ten minutes into his oration, he had woven a neat pattern—up the sidewalk a block, across the street, down the other side past the West African textile wholesalers, jaywalking the thoroughfare again where Texas was detained, and starting the rounds over. He chanted his lament of grave injustice like a holy incantation.

The cops had become a little embarrassed by now. One walked over and upbraided the chauffeur. “Hey, what gives? Be reasonable. Tell him to stop.”

“Stop? That one?” Innocent waxed poetic. “Sir, that is like telling a man not to eat, lovers not to meet, a baby not to teat. The only thing to stop that one is to let his vehicle go.” The constabulary huddled briefly and then tried to continue as before, but it was becoming difficult to work the traffic scam with onlookers staring at the dude carrying on like a cross between a religious zealot and a crazy man. Shoppers loitered in the shallows of the swirling foot-traffic to see if something worth watching might occur. Five minutes more passed and the tirade seemed to have settled in for the long haul, although Mayolo was becoming a little hoarse.

The Yuletide cops had been out-buffaloed at their own game. They milled uncertainly, then, abruptly, made their decision. A patrol officer went to the driver’s window. “You win, you clever bastards. Call off your dog. Get out of here.” And, to save face, “Don’t ever do it again.”

Bonobo Advocate, Kizito

Kizito is seen here in my office, with the clinic cat, working on a cartoon for the children's magazine Bleu/Blanc. In 1994, we started this magazine, and in spite of many hiccups over the years, it is still in operation. Kizito has always had a love for wild animals, which he has expressed in his art, his music, and in a film on bonobos that was produced for local television.

Kizito and I continue to collaborate long-distance via email. When he heard about the blog, he wrote:

"I am Ngoma Muanda KIZITO. I am a Congolese artist. I like singing and drawing cartoons for kids. Before my first meeting with Delfi, I knew nothing about animals, although I intended to know. The time I spent beside her trained me to work harder, sharpening my artwork and got better results than ever before. Also, Delfi taught me to discover another dimension of life on earth through conservation. With her, I figured out there were so many new skills of life to deal with if you let yourself be initiated. For instance, she taught me to love animals so that, still, I am fighting to protect them either through the Bleu Blanc, or everywhere in running life as in my own family."

Photo by D. Messinger

Bonobo Gets a Bath

Besides a myriad of health issues, the baby bonobos that I saw being sold for pets were very dirty, so part of their treatment was cleaning them up. Here I am, lathering up a young animal in a plastic basin. The bonobos were affection starved, and the warm water was so soothing, that they would sometimes fall asleep in my arms.

Photo by B. Messinger

Red, White, and Zoo

At work today, a call went out for extra volunteers for the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens monthly enrichment day. At the employee break room, carpet rolls, cardboard boxes, and paper maché balloons were being prepared for the monthly enrichment day, on Saturday, July the 19th. To honor the "Red, White, and Zoo", staff was painting everything in non-toxic red, white, and blue.

Keepers in modern zoos use "enrichment", to provide an interesting, varying, and challenging environment for the animals. Many of these items are artificial, such as plastic food puzzles, canine and equine toys, rubber tubs, used telephone books. As this is not esthetically pleasing for zoos that pride themselves on natural habitats, the compromise is that non-natural enrichment is usually given off-exhibit, in the night houses.

At the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, once a month, staff highlights its behind-the-scenes enrichment program by putting themed enrichment on exhibit, for the public to appreciate. In addition to the boxes and tubes, other things like spices, special or unusual foods, scents, and frozen items will be added to provide environments of discovery for the animals.

The photograph above is of a giant otter checking out a giant tube decked out for a previous enrichment day. These otters are already active all day long, and the added goodies takes them to a new level of "play".

Photo by S. Staaden

African Genet Babies

While still in the Peace Corps, I was on the road for six months doing research on monkeypox. During that time, I was given two genet babies, which I raised on powdered milk dripped from a plastic pipette. These babies were a pleasure to raise, although they had a peculiar musky odor.

Genets are in the carnivorous family called "vivirid", which includes mongooses, genets, and civets. They weigh around two pounds and are mostly nocturnal, although they will forage during the day. One unusual thing about genets is that they are omnivorous, having evolved to take fruit opportunistically in game-poor forests. My genets showed a preference for ripe banana over meat.

Locally common, genets will raid village hen houses to take chickens. Hand-reared genets become imprinted on humans and are almost cat-like in their behavior. They have an unusual "chuff" which I learned to imitate in the back of my throat. This guttural sound would always bring a chuff response from my genet kittens, even when they became adults.

Photo by D. Messinger

Bonobo: This Little Piggy

Perching on her sleeping mom's back, Lucy checks out her toes at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. As a young bonobo, Lucy stays close to her mother, even though she could wander. Like a human child, she doesn't chose to take a nap, but prefers to indulge in quiet play.

Photo by M. Brickner

Land Snakes Alive!

What animal is almost universally feared and despised? The serpent! The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has developed a unique "citizen science" conservation project entitled Land Snakes Alive! that will attempt to dispel the myths about these little understood creatures.

With 130 acres, the zoo is fortunate to have several species of snakes that are frequently seen in the public areas. Land Snakes Alive is a pilot study that involves capturing, tagging, releasing, and re-capturing the snakes on zoo property. Much of the work will be conducted in front of guests, as the snakes are found. This will provide a one-on-one interaction with a zoo "scientist".

The top photo shows a yellow rat snake in a tree with the second one showing a keeper catching it. In the next image, a keeper is inserting the transponder, or "chip". The transponder is about the size of a large grain of rice and is placed in the muscle, along the side, just in front of the vent (cloaca).

At the bottom, the transponder is checked by the hand-held reader which displays the 10-digit number. Besides conducting real snake population science, staff will have an "ice breaker" for questions from curious guests. The zoo will be able to survey if this type of experience can change attitudes about the controversial snake.

Photos by D. Ferri

Sparkplug Congolese Cloth

Imported or locally made cloth was sold in six yard lengths. Two yards was used for a woman's blouse, while the other four were for her skirts. The full-length bottom skirt was knotted tightly around the waist, while the top one was wrapped around the waist, and folded and tucked in place. The way a skirt was tucked had various meanings. The fact that a woman needed to constantly re-arrange her outer skirt meant that she could add suggestion into the draping of her bottom.

This cloth is a prosaic "Six Sparkplugs" (6 bougies). African material is like a billboard, newspaper, or message board for all to see. The subjects range from political slogans, educational messages, religious convictions, to ordinary things, such as these sparkplugs.

Bonobo Zuani

Zuani was my favorite bonobo. How I became her favorite human happened when she escaped and climbed a tree on the INRB grounds. From Grains of Golden Sand:

"When I found her in the tree, she was testing the leaves to see how they tasted, hooting in alarm, and eyeing the solid perimeter fence that was an easy hop from where she perched. Quickly, I rounded up two security guards from the gate and asked them to help me. Near the tree, the men climbed the high wall and threatened the bonobo with waving arms to keep her from leaving the compound. Zuani climbed higher, barking in escalating fear. She totally ignored the goodies I temptingly held out. Stalemate.

Zuani was too far away, and we were too few to get her down. After fifteen minutes the predicament remained the same. Petrified with fright, Zuani clung to a thin bough at the top of the tree. I felt I had no choice and made a rough decision. I gathered up a wad of pebbles from the decorative border around the building and handed them up to one guard to throw at the animal from his vantage on top of the fence. The more athletic man was asked to climb the tree and pretend that he was going after her. They did as told, one energetically hollering and shaking the limbs as he climbed, the other yelling and tossing rocks.

Zuani was freaked out by her two tormentors. She crept out on her branch, farther and farther, screaming. The limb, fortunately, was flexible, and as Zuani backed up its narrowing length the branch started to bend. The tree-climbing man was only about 15 feet below her, moving lithely upward like an enormous python. The fence man was doing his duty, pitching gravel and shouting raucously.

Zuani was on a precarious perch. She was nearly at the tip, and the now-slender whip slowly and gracefully drooped low. Gripping the bough with thin, upstretched limbs, she looked like a hanging teardrop silhouetted against the sky. Lower and lower she swung, screeching bloody murder all the while. She looked down; the only recognizable thing was me. Below, I chanted an inviting incantation: “Zuani, Zuani, it’s me, Zuani.”

Her weight was too much for the branch. It dipped to eight feet directly above my head. She looked up at the mean man who was now above her and peered down at me. I held my opened hands straight over my head. With an ear-splitting scream, Zuani let go and plunged into my arms. Her dead-weight hit and I nearly collapsed to the ground. For a split second, I thought she would ricochet off or bite me first before tearing away. She did neither. She gave a bonobo cry of fear and relief and clung fiercely to my neck. I had saved her from those horrible men!

Be Polite Please

As though to mirror the "peaceful" tendencies of the bonobo, this door says, in white chalk, in French, "Be Polite Please". This was photographed when I was a volunteer in the Peace Corps -- the site was Omendjadi, and the resident was a fellow teacher.

Omendjadi, smack dab in the center of Zaire, (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), is within the range of the bonobo, although bonobos are not found there now. No one is certain, but they were probably hunted out long ago. As one goes further north, deeper into the rain forest, one encounters the bonobo. Research is ongoing throughout the historical range of the bonobo to figure out what and where their numbers actually are.

Photo by D. Messinger

Bonobos Enjoying Popsicles

Kaleb and his mother, Kuni, enjoy cool treats in the form of fresh fruit frozen into juice popsicles, at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. They also have ice and other, non-edible enrichment toys such as cardboard boxes and plastic containers. Frozen goodies are provided outside on hot summer days, and indoors, in the night quarters where they sleep.

Photo by M. Brickner

Innocent and Texas

Innocent, my driver, was an important part of the team that cared for the orphaned bonobos. From Grains of Golden Sand:

"Innocent was a smooth operator, which was saying a lot, given the horrific conditions of the roads and traffic. Nothing rattled him—not side-swiping semis, slews of blaring taxis, riots of ticket-evaders hanging off buses (to combat this, some bus companies welded giant spikes on their bumpers), bottomless potholes, darting pedestrians, and thieves on the prowl for unprotected mirrors, antennas, and headlight covers.

"There were no rules of the road, and Innocent knew how to maneuver the lack of them all. In his head he carried a map of the convoluted roadways, unnamed city streets, one-way alleyways, and shortcuts to our destinations. At drivers’ rest stops, he conferred with fellow chauffeurs and thus kept track of how to avoid roving police barricades, mobile bandit gangs, and the downed bridge, flooded crossing, or odd street construction. His was a full-time occupation. Besides chauffeuring me and guarding the truck while I did errands, Innocent freed me from a deluge of onerous duties by running about town in my place.

"Innocent dearly loved “his” Texas. He’d worked for many years as a driver for the Belgian Military Cooperation and was trained in the formal, cavalry style. That is to say, every morning the hood was raised, and Texas got a complete stem-to-stern examination. Fuel, oil, radiator coolant, and windshield-washing fluid levels were inspected, the headlights, brake lights and turn-indicators were checked, the tires examined, battery cables jiggled, hoses studied and tightened. Every single work day. Innocent was committed to his job, and he sulked if I suggested that it was not necessary to do this every morning. After all, he was a professional and to suggest that he do anything less was to demean his occupation."

Photo by D. Messinger

Boy in Red and Bonobo

This remarkable image poses the quintessential question: what is ape, and what is man? Separated by exhibit glass, Vic, a three-year old bonobo at the Cincinnati Zoo gazes at a three-year old guest. The boy's father said that they were frequent zoo visitors.

Photo by M. Brickner

African Pine Cone

When giving presentations, I like to share this slide, and call it an "African Pine Cone". I challenge the audience to guess what species it is. They can't figure it out, so I give them a hint, saying the animal is toothless, has a long, sticky tongue, and eats ants and termites. People often try "armadillo", but there are no armadillos in Africa.

This is a long-tailed pangolin, or scaly anteater. Pangolins are found in Africa and Asia and they are persecuted for their scales, which are used in traditional medicine. In Africa, they are eaten. Most species are nocturnal, and they are easy to hunt, having little defense other than curling up in a protective ball, as seen here.

Pangolins stress easily and they do not tolerate captivity well, due to their specialized diet. Most of the pangolins I saw were heavily parasitized with ticks.

Photo by D. Messinger

Behind-the-Scenes: Chimp Termite Fishing

An interesting side note about chimpanzees was that some Zairian villagers may have known that they fished for termites. It was a bit deceptive, because the translation from the local language was that they ate "black fruit." From the description, it sounded like they were talking about termites, but it was impossible to confirm, since the story had come second-hand. (There were many species of termites in Zaire. The most common forest termite built breadbasket sized black mounds, with mushroom like rain-shedding caps).

In 1991, I hired a Zairian artist named Kizito to create draft pages of a cartoon booklet that I envisioned, called "The Fascinating Animals of Zaire." Depicting natural animal behaviors in Kinshasa posed an unusual challenge -- a lack of photographs. I was convinced that termite fishing would be one of the most interesting things to show chimp intelligence, but, having never seen it himself, it was impossible for Kizito to realistically draw such an action.

Occaisionally, a chimpanzee was brought in for examination and treatment, so I found a subject in an anesthetized chimpanzee. Quickly, our team carried him outside and positioned his hands to simulate preparing a long twig, then fishing, then eating the termites. Sketching from life, Kizito was able to do a creditable job on the cartoon, previously posted on this blog.

Photos by D. Messinger

Chimpanzees Find Good Things

One of the draft pages that Kizito and I did for "The Fascinating Animals of Zaire" was about chimpanzees, as many educated people knew that there were two sorts -- the black-faced and the white-faced. In remote areas, however, villagers recognized their local species only.

Roughly translated, the main character, (a self-portrait of Kizito) is introducing our cousin, the chimpanzee. He explains that the "Mokomboso" or "Sokumutu" means "like a man", and we share 99% genetic material.

The explanation continues with a description of the large brain and intelligence, and the opposable thumbs for manipulating objects. The panel Kizito points too explains how chimpanzees prepare a stick for fishing in the termite mounds. The termites grab on ... and ... bon appetit!

The final image explains, "Like humans, their life is based on a complex social system. Baby chimpanzees must learn the customs of their group, to appreciate the edible foods (and what is toxic), to avoid predators, and how to care for their infants. All of this requires a long apprenticeship".

What is unusual about this cartoon is that we did not have any photographs of the termite sequence. To make it as understandable as possible, a young chimp that was anesthetized for veterinary purposes was placed in realistic poses, while sleeping, for us to draw the position of the hands.

This artwork was never published, but the project cemented a relationship with a Congolese artist that has lasted to this day.

Bonobos Eating Biscuits

Lucy, a young bonobo at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens enjoys a " monkey biscuit" that the zoo purchases from specialty exotic animal feed companies. These grain-based biscuits provide protein, vitamins, and minerals as part of a nutritionally complete diet.

The Jacksonville Zoo bonobos have learned a trick with their monkey biscuits: they place them in the water moat for a soaking. When they are softened to their satisfaction, the bonobos relax for a meal.

Photo by M. Brickner

Cattle Egrets

From Grains of Golden Sand, 1991:

"I heard zinging as the bullets flew overhead and I started running toward the buildings. I must have looked foolish. Terrified, I sprinted, crouching, thinking to make a smaller target for the ricocheting slugs.

Then I saw the cattle egrets directly overhead, winging their way to the rookeries as they did every evening about this same time. It was just a small glance, seized in fright. The bullets flying by did not faze them. The birds never faltered, their graceful snake-like necks folded back, their wings sure and steady. Suddenly for me, time expanded, quivered, then stopped. Cattle egrets....

I was a Peace Corps volunteer. There was a knocking at the door. Another interruption in my afternoon of classroom preparation.

Two boys, shy, eyes downcast, proffering between them three live cattle egrets. To eat. I refused to buy but hefted one to measure the meat at the price. The bird was amazingly light, offering nothing more than long white feathers on a scant frame. Yellow gaze unblinking, it stared balefully at me, not comprehending its fate. Maybe four ounces of flesh, double that if one ate the innards, head, feet, and bones, as people here were wont to do. "How do you catch them?" I queried. "They haven't a mark on them."

The next day, I went to the school soccer field. There, I saw, on hands and knees, a "herd" of schoolboys, moving slowly in the grassy yard. Each of the six had draped a sheet over his back. Perfectly, they mimicked ruminants, head up, then down, then move forward, then stop, then graze again. Moving cautiously among them was a group of cattle egrets, fooled into believing they were with sheep or goats, snatching insects that the boys stirred up by studied pawing of ground. After much waiting, there was a lunge with bare hands. But this time the birds were too quick. They billowed up, escaping doom, and flew directly over my head, squawking in irritation."

Cattle egrets have evolved to follow both wild and domestic herds to eat the insects that the animals disturb. They have also learned to flock to agriculture equipment moving about fields for the same purpose. The students used their knowledge of the birds' natural feeding strategy to capture them.

Image Credit: URL Image, http://www.ecuador-travel.net/biodiversity.birds-egret5.jpg

Why Call It Bonobo?

Belgian colonialists ponder chimp-like animals in a crate mislabeled "BONOBO" in this cartoon that Kizito and I created for a children's pamphlet. In Lingala, the men, from left to right say:

"Bolobo?"

"They look like chimpanzees to me."

"I think this is something else."

"Where did they come from?"

"I think they came from bonobo."

From Grains of Golden Sand:

"Natural history books cite 1929 as the year when the bonobo was discovered by a Belgian scientist who questioned the fused sutures on a small “chimp” skull that had been in a museum for years. The name “bonobo” is thought to be a corruption of “Bolobo”—a frontier outpost from whence specimens may have originated. Thus, the bonobo joined the short list of large mammals first described by science in the 20th century.

"But was it? Careful sleuthing led scientist Jo Thompson of Oxford to consult old, obscure documents. It turned out that a “southern chimpanzee” had been discussed and photographed many times before 1929. According to her investigation, the first scientific naming of the species was in 1887 by a German named Noack, who called it the “marungensis” ape. Following taxonomic rules, the first name takes precedence, so Pan paniscus should really be Pan marugensis. Taxonomists agreed that Thompson’s arguments for marugensis were sound, but they preferred the newer, less valid label due to custom, usage, and tradition. Thus, the name endures: Pan paniscus."