Chapter 4
At the Zoo
Mark and his father stood in front of the primates’ enclosure in awe of these beautiful and intelligent animals. Mark in his little voice struggled with some of the words as he read to his dad from the plaque displayed at the front of the orangutan cage. “Sumatran orangutans use and manufacture tools. In the wild, orangutans are seen using found objects as tools: leaves as ‘toilet paper,’ leafy branches as flyswatters, large leaves as umbrellas. Captive orangutans are capable of manufacturing tools for a variety of uses and situations: connecting short sticks to make one long stick to reach desired object, stacking boxes to make a ladder, using sticks to dig holes, making swings from ropes, and containing water by using objects as cups.”
“Holy, Dad, these guys sure are smart. They know how to use leaves. Imagine using leaves for toilet paper”
Father and son talked about the orangutans, their unique skills, eating habits and their creativity with tools. They laughed together at the idea of using a leaf for toilet paper as a female orangutan using her long powerful limbs swung from the Firestone snow tire, suspended from the artificial tree in her enclosure. Mark made an imitation of the female’s swinging motion. His dad smiled, content with the rare feeling of closeness to his son. He felt more at peace with himself having, at least for the moment, bridged the gap between himself and Mark. It felt good. As a part time optimist he knew it would be fleeting as things would go back to the way they always were when they returned home, but for the moment he enjoyed his freedom from self and his time with his son.
Mark returned to the Toronto Zoo several times as a teenager and young adult, without his Dad, whenever he wanted to feel comforted and safe. It was odd how he could get the feelings that he needed from his Dad here amongst the hooting primates. He marvelled and lingered when near the orangutan enclosure, a solitary primate with strong bonds to its offspring probably stronger than those he experienced in his own family. Staring eye to eye, with the sad intelligent, brown eyes of an orangutan in captivity made him wonder what went on inside of its brain under that mop of frizzy red hair? From their perspective what were they thinking about us, primate to primate? Mark felt a certain kinship to his orangutan friend, a creature much like himself. Who was caged and who was free?
