Probably
you're all thinking now that I'm talking about Pipke and me.
Of course: Pipke was a lucky little critter because I was there to save her during a heavy rainstorm at the moment that she was born in an abandoned nest.
But
– there's now also an other little duckling that was saved by
someone who's called: Fran.
You
will never guess it; that last Fran where I'm talking about “isn't
a human”.
No
- it's a friendly giant: a gorilla at the Bronx Zoo in New York.
I
want to explain how I discovered this. Actually it happened pure by
chance.
Already
quite some time ago someone has sent me an endearing picture of a
gorilla and a tiny duckling.
Of course the picture touched me because it brings back memories.
Only by reading the touching story I discovered that I have an “animal namesake” with also a lot of empathy.
(What the sender probably did not know was that “that friendly gorilla”, who's the savior of the duckling is also called: Fran.)
So - because I'm someone who wants to know the story behind the picture - who goes more profound into things - I went to search on the Internet and found out this wonderful story that follows in this post.
And
yes, also the “behavior” of those great giant Fran got my
interest, I wanted to know more about that. I'm not going to bother
you with *all the interesting information I found on *Wikipedia. You
know where to find it.
The
main point is that they say there that: Primates and in particular
great apes are
candidates for highly developed capabilities for empathy
.
So
- when people say as an insult: “you behave as an animal”, I
actually see this rather as a compliment.
I
also discovered there the story about Koko the female gorilla with also a
lot of empathy. If you don't know her already down below in this post you can find a link to a YouTube film about her.
Now back to the main topic: Fran the gorilla and the lucky little duckling.
(Actually the reason why I
planned to write this post.)
Here follows a part of the story published in the newspaper The telegraph
published
on October 7, 2011. Click on the link to read the full story.
(Note: Look how good the quality of the pictures taken by Tom Warren is. You must know they were taken through a thick piece of plexiglass!)
A wonderful moment between two unlikely friends
This huge gorilla and tiny duckling became unlikely friends after the bird escaped into the ape's zoo enclosure. Visitors to the zoo ware stunned when the baby duckling suddenly appeared inches from the primate. Feeling the 90kg western lowland gorilla might react badly to the feathered visitor, onlookers held their breath to see what would happen. The gorilla became fascinated with the bird and inspected its new friend with a stick. The 15 year ols female ape, called Fran, happily let the duckling waddle about before it was removed by the zookeepers.
Photographer Tom Warren captured the scene at the Bronx Zoo in New York.
(Note: Look how good the quality of the pictures taken by Tom Warren is. You must know they were taken through a thick piece of plexiglass!)
A wonderful moment between two unlikely friends
This huge gorilla and tiny duckling became unlikely friends after the bird escaped into the ape's zoo enclosure. Visitors to the zoo ware stunned when the baby duckling suddenly appeared inches from the primate. Feeling the 90kg western lowland gorilla might react badly to the feathered visitor, onlookers held their breath to see what would happen. The gorilla became fascinated with the bird and inspected its new friend with a stick. The 15 year ols female ape, called Fran, happily let the duckling waddle about before it was removed by the zookeepers.
Photographer Tom Warren captured the scene at the Bronx Zoo in New York.
Tom Warren/Solent News.
Twigged
... Fran checks out her new feathery chum with a stick
Tom
Warren/Solent News.
The duckling is accepted into the gorilla group
Tom
Warren/Solent News.
has a quacking time with a tiny duckling
Tom
Warren/Solent News.
I hope the great giant Fran could capture your heart.
She surely has captured mine.
I
have used this quote already before but, here - at this place - it's
really an appropriate quote to close this post with:
"If
having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and
gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans."
James
Herriot
Fran
the gentle gorilla is a confirmation of it!
Here
you see Koko who expressed sadness over the death of her cat All Ball. Look how she shows her empathy and how lovingly she treats the kittens.
