The connection

[urbpan]

This is one of the keepers who trains the mandrill just hanging out with him. I confess, I just hung out with him a couple times today. It was strangely relaxing and exciting to connect for a while with a non-human primate. Indy is a cool monkey, and he likes it when children come and play in front of his window too.

Comments

[bleppo.livejournal.com]

As I said elsewhere -- Love!!

I was thinking about my recent trip to the Palm Beach Zoo, and how the animal that most attracted me and I could have watched forever were the Siamangs: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8211/8367668447_7ff80c8717_z.jpg

I remember the same feeling the last time I went there, years ago...

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

The Stone Zoo has a gibbon family now, and they are amazing.

[iheartoothecae.livejournal.com]

I just started working with the Siamangs at my zoo, and my god, I love the snot out of them. They're really great to work with. The fact that there is a cute baby in the group doesn't hurt either.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Takes a little while for baby gibbons to get cute, I gotta say.

[iheartoothecae.livejournal.com]

Oh geez I just found her embarrassing baby pictures:
http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2011/07/siamang-gibbon-baby-born-at-baton-rouge-zoo.html

I wanna go back in time and knit her a sweater. :o

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Oof. When our gibbon was born and the mother was dragging it around I said that it looked like she found an alien baby in the dumpster. vampyrusgirl didn't like that.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It must be a hugely powerful, wonderful thing. I mean, we have this with other creatures--with dogs, for instance, or with horses, or cats to a degree--this cross species communication. But any time you stop and think about it, you get awed by how amazing it is. And other primates are so similar to us. It's kind of cosmically reassuring when we can relate. (.... Or so I'd imagine, anyway.)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Right on.

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

Just don't make direct eye contact :)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

If he gets mad, shake your head and grin.