Blog #27--Not So Different After All

Blog #27 –Not So Different After All, by Jack Tuttle, http://dreamtime3.wix.com/jacktuttlebook

Yes, I get it. The human ego claims it is separate from and unrelated to other species including primates. As a species, we go to great lengths to prove our suppositions. I’ve cut my nose and ears several times while trimming aberrant hairs that might suggest a furry evolutionary past. It seems a cardinal rule of human life to deny all evidence connecting us to the rest of Nature.

However, some of us conclude differently once we have observed Nature long enough. We see numerous similarities between ourselves and other species. Of course, any attempt to broadcast these connections results in a loud backlash of denials. We are not permitted to “personify” other species, as if they are innately different and unquestionably inferior.

Over time, Nature photographers and cinematographers have provided us with increasingly intimate portraits of Nature in action. Anyone capable of empathizing with the plight of another individual, regardless of species, cannot help but find similarities to our own tendencies under the same circumstances. A recent television show on NatGeo Wild called “Chimpanzee” is a good case in point.

It is a documentary that follows a family of chimpanzees in its struggle for survival in an African rain forest. In particular, it focuses on a newborn named Oscar and the amazing reversals in his life. Those who did the photographic work and prepared the documentary spent many years following this family of chimps, so the animals learned to trust them and permitted constant access. And modern equipment allowed more and better close-ups.

To summarize, Oscar’s mother was killed fighting a rival band of chimps long before he was old enough to fend for himself. He tried to find and prepare foods as his mom had taught him, but his small size and lack of experience made survival nearly impossible. He reached out to other females in the troop, but they had their own children and rejected his advances.

Increasingly weak, as a last resort Oscar began following the lead chimp Freddie. At least, he could copy Freddie’s hunting and gathering techniques. But then something truly amazing happened. Freddie didn’t reject him even though he was not the father. Showing a soft, sensitive side rarely seen in a dominant leader, Freddie began sharing his food with Oscar. He was at least as generous as Oscar’s mother had been, giving him 75% of everything he gathered.

Freddie also began to groom Oscar, an act that increased the bond between the pair while clearing parasites off the young lad. And then one day, Oscar was permitted to climb up on Freddie’s back, like he once did with his mother. This is unheard of normally since most dominant animals stand on the backs of others, not vice versa. Despite Freddie’s unchallenged authority within the group, or maybe because of it, he could show his soft, feminine side without embarrassment or sign of weakness.

This is a wonderful example of how all of us, males and females alike, are mixtures of both genders. We have tendencies and skills from both sides and benefit most when we can combine them into something that enhances our survival. When the rival chimp group tried to steal Freddie’s territory, he fought them off and then went back to mothering Oscar. It was likely Freddie’s ability to be both strong and soft that made him such a good leader.

One of the last scenes in the documentary shows Freddie sleeping with one arm wrapped gently around the youngster. Oscar is looking up into the tree canopy, his eyes demonstrating a definite reflective mood. I’ve seen and felt this exact scenario innumerable times with people, and I have no doubt Oscar was thinking deeply as he lay there. Perhaps he was contemplating the reversals of fortune that had controlled his early life. His future was finally secure, so he had time to relax and think.

Chimpanzees and other animals can’t speak our language, so they can’t tell us what they’re thinking. We can pretend we are completely different if that makes us feel better about ourselves, but it simply isn’t true. I may be ridiculed by some for my views, but anyone with an open heart and mind cannot help but see our connections with the rest of Nature. We and they are one.

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