This month's Smithsonian Magazine has a very good, but disturbing article on the illegal trade in Indonesia of baby orangutans for pets.
The trade is driving the entire species towards extinction - as Dr. Willie Smits puts it. "when you see a baby orangutan for sale as a pet, you can assume that the mother was shot."
Smits' organization runs the Wanariset Project to, among other things, reintroduce confiscated baby orangs back into the wild. The photographs of them are, of course, heartbreaking. Monkey (and other simian) friends who wish to help this and other projects are invited to become a member of BOS-USA (the Balikpapan Orangutan Society - USA).
Posted by yhbc at August 27, 2002 07:35 PMAs Lupo so wisely said, we should make clear, by our actions, that our love for monkeys (though it could be any other creature) is not just an affectation.
Great idea, Commish. I'd hate to think that by promoting simian cuteness we were contributing to the problem, if only morally...
Posted by: Miguel on August 27, 2002 07:56 PMToo true - the society I linked to also links to a factsheet (Adobe Acrobat file) setting out why they take the position that no primate should be kept as a pet - which may strike some as an extreme stance, but the point is that the impact that taking individuals from the wild has on the species and their habitat, not to say on the individuals as well, is just too great to justify the practice. Also, apparently you just can't be sure that the monkey you may want to keep as a pet was born in captivity or not.
I should also mention that the actual Smithsonian article is considerably longer than the excerpt on their site. They still cling to the business model of actually "selling magazines", so they don't put their complete articles on the site.
Posted by: yhbc on August 27, 2002 08:34 PMWhile on a flight to Thailand they showed us a documentary about some sort of orangutan sanctuary-didn't pay too much attention as I was trying to sleep. The only thing i remember was a baby orangutan peeing on Julia Roberts' neck.
This sort of thing breaks my heart (the original post, not Julia's experience). Orangutans are incredibly intelligent. I remember years ago seeing one at the zoo-some people kept yelling at it-and it turned around and flipped them the bird.
Posted by: b****fire on August 28, 2002 06:59 AMOrangutans are incredibly intelligent
That's what makes the rich taste so decadent!
I like to think it would appreciate and comprehend the Kafka-like nature of knowing true freedom from it's cage only by winding up on top my triscut, with a squirt of cheez-wiz ( to give it, ironically, some tang).
Posted by: dong resin on August 28, 2002 10:30 AMDong, if I die before you do, you're invited. But I warn you now you probably won't stick out in the crowd-not if the last funeral I went to is any indication.
Posted by: b****fire on August 28, 2002 12:52 PMI have a feeling he won't make it past October.
But b****, I'll come to yours if you come to mine.
It'd be nice to go to another funeral.
I haven't be able to go to any local ones since the advent of what they in the funeral business still call the "wax novelty lips unpleasantness."
Posted by: dong resin on August 28, 2002 01:17 PMAside from our future business in monkey-clown funereal theme parties, I think we should pick another (possibly monkey-related) organization to throw money and poo at. Monkeys are our brothers, after all, and they've got a hard road since they got screwed in the opposable thumb department. If they had those, my guess is we would be fighting the great monkey-human war of ought-two rather than trying to save them from extinction. There would be the Monkey Liberation party, monkey guerillas (ha!), monkey politicos, all making a stand against the tyranny of man. Or did I see that in a movie?
Anyhoo, my vote for more good monkey deeds.
Posted by: readymade
on
August 28, 2002 01:45 PM
Yeah. We've talked about a monthly charity thing. We'll have to look into that more.
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