Knuckle-Walking at Hann Zoo

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For lots more media (video and stills) from this trip, go to zoo on BOT.  Look for Gallery 10.

Dakar has a zoo.  Like many things in the area, and I suppose in West Africa generally, the zoo is a little rough, cracked and worn, under-funded.  When I mentioned my interest in taking my students to the zoo, they collectively groaned, the zoo not being high on their list of favorite places.  The kids find the zoo sad, the animals in too-small enclosures, their frame of reference being either large game parks, or well-kept, modern zoos, with larger, landscaped enclosures.

We would be going to visit the chimpanzees, and their handler, hopefully for an up-close and personal encounter with them, an extension of our current study of human origins.

Randi and I visited the weekend prior.  The zoo reminded me of what American zoos might have looked like in the 1960s, prior what I take has been a renaissance in our understanding of animal behavior, and the design of zoos which attempts to more closely approximate their natural habitats.  When I was a youngster, I recall see big cats pacing in relatively small concrete enclosures.  What we attribute to mental illness today was then perceived as normal behavior.  The pacing made them appear more ferocious, as if they were impatiently waiting to escape and eat us. 

The class had a very memorable visit, for the incredible access we were allowed, under the watchful eye of the chimpanzee handler, who permitted students to interact directly with the animals.  Note the videos on BOT, which capture a few golden moments from this trip.

For visitors to this blog, email me at tspedding@sbcglobal.net for username/password access to our class website.