A few years ago, I visited the Gibbon Conservation Center in California. This was during Joan Ranquet’s workshop, Communicating with Wildlife in Sanctuaries.
While there, class members communicated with a gibbon family: Domino (dad), Tuk (mom), Izzy (teenager), Boo (little girl) and Howard (baby).
I decided to connect with Domino, the dad. What I received astounded me. I clearly felt that Domino was mad at Tuk about her parenting style.
Afterwards, I found out from the caretakers that the teenager, Izzy, had been acting out towards the parents. They saw Tuk and Domino respond differently to Izzy’s behavior. They noticed that Tuk “won” the disagreement about how to discipline Izzy.
It’s comforting to know that parenting teenagers is cross-species challenge.
I’ve noticed that human parents (me included) can disagree about how to deal with acting-out teens. I thought teenagers were a strictly human problem.
But I was wrong. Another one of my limiting belief about non-human species dashed to pieces.
Gibbon Mom Tuk & Baby Howard
Why are Gibbons in a Conservation Center?
Gibbons are the smallest ape. Sadly, gibbons are almost extinct in the wild. Thanks to the Gibbon Conservation Center, their numbers are growing. The Center is endorsed by Dr. Jane Goodall.
Listen to them sing their morning songs. Each family has its own song. In one of the tracks, you’ll hear Jul, the mascot dog, singing along!
More animals in sanctuaries
I’m glad for conservation centers and sanctuaries because not every species is flourishing in the wild. Ethical sanctuaries are helping them survive.
Mollie Hogan from The Nature of Wildworks brought more animals for us to communicate with. We connected with Boxer, an African Serval, Dragon, a red-tailed hawk and Hootie, a Great Horned Owl.
Animals are in this sanctuary because they had contact with people at a very young age. Some imprinted on humans. None had learned how to survive in the wild. The Nature of Wildworks gives them a chance to live a decent life.
Hootie was an injured baby who needed medical attention and was brought to the sanctuary to heal. As a result, he never learned how to survive and thrive in the wild from his mother. So it wasn’t safe to let him back into the wild without those necessary skills.
And then there were the baby dolphins!
Just for fun – My final journey while in Southern California was visiting my cousin Ray and his wife Jill in Santa Barbara. They took me about 10 miles outside Santa Barbara in their boat. Our goal was whale watching, but no luck with that endeavor.
But I think we got something just as good. We saw scores of dolphin pods and had bunches of baby dolphins swimming with us. The feeling from the dolphins was joy, family connection and love. Can it get any better than that?
Support accredited zoos and sanctuaries!
Accredited zoos also help endangered species survive and are working hard to give the animals a decent life. Make sure your time and money is well spent. Research the organizations. Read my blog for more ideas.
Are my charity donations well spent?
Very interesting! I would be interested to know if this is just a primate thing or if this is found in other types of animals.
Interesting thought, Susanna! I’m open to the possibility that animals have many characteristics we believe belong to humans only.