Primate Encounters

I talked with a gorilla once.

Well, talked is a stretch, but we did have a bit of a moment there at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

It happened when I was tooling around Washington with some friends. Seattle was our final point of interest, but to get there we had driven from Billings, Montana through Spokane down to Mt.Rainier by way of Yakima, then west to the Olympic National Forest through Tacoma. We drove around the forest on the coastal highway and made a brief visit to Forks for our vampire enthusiast, finally making Bainbridge Island for the ferry across the Sound.

All that to say, by the time we had reached Seattle and the Woodland Park Zoo, it was day 4 or five of the trip and I was tired.

I forget why, but I had ended up wandering around the zoo on my own and made my way into the primate exhibits. I envied the energy of the monkeys and admired their abilities for a while, but then I continued my way through and found myself in the gorilla exhibit.

Gorilla always strike me as so regal, and I’m always reminded of a time we went to Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha Nebraska when I was 12. There, we were taking pictures of the gorillas (with our single-use film camera mind you) and a particular ham of a gorilla saw the camera and struck a pose!

No such ham-ery at Woodland Park that day, but I did see a smaller gorilla sitting near the glass. I’m no expert on gorillas, but the gorilla struck me as a middle-aged female, and she sat there looking very much bored. I stood near the glass, perhaps two feet from her, and she looked up at me:

“Wow,” I thought, “You look as tired as I do,”

“Yeah,” She seemed to say, “today’s no good. Just dull, you know?” She almost shrugged.

“I can relate. It’s been a good trip, but I’m exhausted.” I glanced up at the enclosure, “Looks like they treat you well here?”

“I get by. The staff is acceptable, but you know- good help is hard to find when you’re as famous as I am.”

“Yeah? You have a lot of fans?”

“Naturally, and you humans are funny to watch most days- so easily entertained with your oo-ing and ah-ing. It’s true, I never leave the zoo, but I perceive that you all have your own enclosures you never leave either.” She yawned, “and I get fed every day without having to clean a zoo enclosure.”

“You have a point at that. Humans and our systems, I guess.”

“You’ll catch up to us eventually,”

“By the Grace, I suppose…” An awkward moment, “I should find my group I guess.”

“Yes, and I’m sure my other fans would like a moment.”

“Thanks for condescending to my level for a minute,” I nodded my head to her in a slight bow, “Been a pleasure,”

She nodded back, “Enjoy your visit.”

So I left her there to her own thoughts.

As I left, I saw a nearby human glancing curiously from me to the gorilla. I suppose she was confused by our brief exchange, but I like to think that she was jealous that I got to have a brief moment with a real celebrity.