The sanctuary is inconspicuous, hidden in a forest of green trees behind black fencing. We would have passed right by it if it weren't for the GPS. A dirt road through the woods led to a worn, grassy parking area that was packed. Outside the open gates, a line of people stood single file to get inside. We parked and got out, collecting our backpacks and items as we went. Standing outside the van in the wooded forest clearing, Joyce looked at my bottle of sunscreen and remarked that we should have changed that out for bug spray back at the gas station. We took a poll to make sure no one was pregnant since the woods seemed a breeding ground for the zika carrying mosquito, and then we headed toward the gates.
Outside the gates was a table set up for anyone bringing gifts for the occupants. Evie set about filling out her form for the bucket of toys and sidewalk chalk that she had brought for Pebbles. The volunteer asked her a lot of questions about her love for orangutans and she answered each one of them ending her sentences with "yes sir". Ah, the south. I remember it well when I lived in North Carolina.
Darcy: "Aren't we in the south? You didn't teach us to talk like that."
Me: "I failed."
While Evie was filling out her form and Mandy was registering I noticed I had blood on my phone. I looked down at my finger and it was bloody too. I followed Joyce who was heading back to the van. Joyce pointed out blood on my skirt. We both thought that was weird since my finger didn't seem to have much blood on it. I washed that off and discovered a tiny cut. To exam it better, I pulled my glasses off of the top of my head to see the cut and discovered three, bright, red droplets of blood on my glasses. For a moment I had visions of a dead body or an orangutan above me angled in the trees dripping blood down only on me. I think Joyce had some visions of her own as we both slowly looked up and around the woods. We decided my finger was the culprit.
Everyone was inside the gates when we got back. A nice woman at the tables of merchandise lined up at the entrance took me into one of the buildings and got me a band-aid and an alcohol wipe to clean my finger. The building was full of volunteers all talking and putting together giant plates of cookies. No one noticed my bloody skirt.
I joined the others and we set off down the pathway to an area that was cordoned off with tents, chairs, and a stage where musicians where playing. There were probably about 200 people there. It was like sitting in the middle of a rain forest in Costa Rica is what I thought when I found a seat way in the back.The head of the sanctuary, the woman who started it all, Patty Ragan appeared on stage and gave us all the history of the sanctuary. She volunteered in Indonesia years ago caring for orangutans which led to her being asked to care for a baby orangutan at a tourist attraction in Miami where she lived. When she had a hard time trying to find a home for the baby she decided she would open a sanctuary herself and she did. She purchased 15 acres of the wooded tropical habitat in the southern rural town and began accepting orangutans and chimpanzees from research facilities and from the entertainment industry. The sanctuary has grown to include 100 acres and each animal has tons of freedom and area to roam and play. Her baby orangutan, Pongo, is still living at the sanctuary today.
She ask that we not post pictures of any of the animals on social media. Her reason was the backlash the sanctuary receives when animal rights activists see pictures of the caged animals. Our pictures, of course, could not capture the enormity of their structures and give a true picture of the life they have. We were allowed to take pictures, but I'm respecting her wishes in not posting them as it makes perfect sense. Instead I'll post the pretty foliage.
Patty sent us on our way to explore the sanctuary. We were armed with maps and there were tons of volunteers along the pathways. The orangutans are in one area and the chimpanzees are in another. Some orangutans are coupled with each other having found companionship and/or true love and some are not. There are twelve three story structures that are attached to air conditioned buildings that the apes can go into, and do, to sleep at night or stay warm in the winter. Each structure has a dome shaped play area with swinging vines (fire hoses), toys, tires, climbing structures, etc. Attached to these play areas are elevated chutes that run through the forest and allow the animals to run around "freely" exploring. They liked to watch the crowds of people coming by and the volunteers told us they love to follow them and the staff around the area while in their chutes.
The place was quite impressive. It was quite large and the animals seemed to have more than enough space and areas to play. Some of the orangutans were happy to entertain us while others opted to stay far away. Volunteers were everywhere to answer questions and to show us how they work with the animals so that they can care for them medically or physically. We watched Jam, the first orangutan who welcomed us maneuver a frozen treat through his bars with his hands and fingers. It was like watching a human as he went about it in the exact same way any human would have done. The sheer size of them was intimidating, but their bodies so like our own.
Some of them were from research facilities. Some of them were from the entertainment industry. Some of them were once someone's pet. Michael Jackson's chimpanzee Bubbles lives there as once did the ape from Clint Eastwood's movie Every Which Way But Loose. We found Evie's Pebbles who was quite entertaining. She was sitting on top of a tube and she worked very hard at getting the volunteer's attention. She could see the treats the volunteer had hidden behind a tree and she wanted them. She pursed her lips and made noises. She spit. She called. She blew bubbles. The more people laughed the harder she worked. The volunteer gave her Gatorade from a huge jug. At one point Pebbles got off the tube and found a small rubber tube that she stuck through the bars. She made her razzing noises until the Gatorade jug was offered and then she stuck the tube into the jug and drank from the rubber tube like a straw. Evie was thrilled.
We spent considerable time studying and watching Pebbles. Eventually we saw every orangutan and moved on to the chimpanzees. We got to visit most of them before the rain came. A great number of them came from the entertainment industry. While the animals are small and fun from birth to about five years old they double in size after that weighing in over 250 pounds. Suddenly they aren't so easy to train or handle. Most end up in sad situations or dumped at sanctuaries with little to no money donated for their care. It costs the Center for Great Apes $100,000 a month to care for all of the animals so Evie's donation is appreciated. The volunteer in front of Bubbles told us that Michael Jackson did not leave any money in his will for the care of his once beloved companion, but that LaToya Jackson did give the center a pair of her shoes to be auctioned off. So far no one had bid on them.
Mandy: "What size are they?"
If it hadn't been for the rain we would have spent more time wandering, but the rain was just starting to come down in sheets and so we made a few keepsake purchases and drove home. All of us agreed it had been not only an educational experience, but an eye opening and entertaining one.
Favorite Thing at the Center:
- Macie - "The chimpanzees when they were screaming."
- Joyce - "I really enjoyed Pebbles."
- Darcy - "Mandy's reaction to the chimp who stomped on the floor and started shrieking."
- Evie - "PEBBLES!"
- Me - "Watching Mandy ask the volunteers tons of questions and her reactions to the answers"
- Mandy - "I loved watching the orangutans watching us and wondering what was going on in their little minds. I loved watching the girls reactions to Pebbles. I loved Pebbles and how much of a comedian she was. I loved watching these animals be so human-like with their reactions and such. It was just great."
No comments:
Post a Comment