We just heard from Sue Savage-Rumbaugh that she isn’t the only one enjoying her copy of I’m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo! Apparently, she gave the book to Kanzi and Panbanisha and they LOVE it. How amazing is that!!! We hope, hope, hope that we get pictures to share with you soon!!!

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

This is the story of our gifted photographer, Marian Brickner’s, journey to Lucy - the star of our book, I’m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo, and it is the second part of our interview - read part 1 here.

After I read, The Forgotten Ape, I started to look for bonobos in United States zoos. I found out that there is a whole family tree of bonobos starting with Linda, who arrived in 1962. I began to take my idea about using photography to change people’s perceptions about hurting other beings and transform it again. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if I could do something photographically to show kids that bonobos have families, how much they are like us.’ I hoped that would help them be interested in wanting to help bonobos.

I went to the Milwaukee Zoo first to see Linda and take her picture. I wanted to take pictures of her whole family, so then I went to Fort Worth, Texas to take pictures of Linda’s son, Kevin. When I arrived back at the Milwaukee Zoo with Kevin’s picture, Linda’s keepers couldn’t believe it. “He looks just like his mom!”

Next, I went to San Diego to try to take pictures, and tried to talk to the keepers and take more pictures, but it was very difficult. They were so busy and kept asking, ‘Who are you?’

Then, I had a thought, no one wants to hear doomsday information about the environment. People, myself included want to be inspired and motivated. We want fun and happy. I realized, what could be more fun and happy than children of any kind - so I started looking for bonobo kids to photograph.

So, I tried another zoo that had bonobos - the Jacksonville Zoo. I called ahead of time and talked to a wonderful man named Craig. He was so welcoming and told me to come on down. He said he couldn’t wait to meet me.

When I arrived, the first thing I noticed about the bonobo exhibit was that there is no glass so taking pictures is easier and the photos are better. And, then I saw Lucy…and then Kaleb…and the whole family. It was perfect.

This is the very first picture I took of Lucy at the Jacksonville Zoo. The family portrait. She melted my heart, and I hope she melts yours too.

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Apparently, bonobos have gone through several names over the years, but Delfi Messinger, Director of Animal Programs at the Jacksonville Zoo, has an important message about the danger of calling them ‘pygmy chimps’ which many people still do.

The word ‘pygmy’ refers to size. It means that whatever animal is being referred to as a ‘pygmy’ is defined as very small. What Delfi has seen happen, when she was monitoring the trafficking of bonobos and chimpanzees out of the Congo, is that people capture baby bonobos and then call them ‘pygmy chimps’ which leads the buyer to think that they are full grown, but miniature and will stay cute, small and adorable forever. This is not the case, of course, the baby bonobos grow up and get big and strong (though they’re always cute)  - and then, people don’t want them anymore creating scenarios for neglect and abuse of bonobos.

Help save the bonobos by educating your family, friends and community. Bonobos are bonobos - they’re a little smaller than chimpanzees, but they are not miniatures or pygmies.

Save the bonobos. Save the world.

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

This picture taken by Marian Brickner is of Lucy’s Aunt Louise and her son Virgil looking into a frozen bucket of Kool-Aid at the CIncinnati Zoo. When we first saw the picture, we thought it looked like the bonobos were laughing, so we asked Marian about that day.

She told us, “They ARE laughing. The Kool-Aid had sunflower seeds and raisins in it, they eventually got it all out - in bucket form.”

Louise is the younger sister of Lorel (Lucy’s mom). Virgil is 11 years-old here and Louise is about 34.
We love her hand on his back.

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

In the wild, bonobos can only be found in one place, the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the DRC, bonobos face violence, war, hunting, habitat destruction and a growing environmental crisis that endangers their lives everyday. Several organizations are working hard to help save the bonobos from extinction including the Bonobo Conservation Initiative, Roots & Shoots, Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary and zoos across the world.

Zoos play a critical role in educating people about bonobos and ensuring the survival of the species. From the conversations that we have had with some zoos that have bonobos, we understand that every one of the bonobo-inhabited zoos realizes the treasure that they have to protect. They work together for the good of these special apes. Here is a list of the zoos in the United States and Europe that currently have bonobos. If you are lucky enough to live near bonobos, GO VISIT THEM! Support the zoo that supports the bonobos. And, in case you haven’t heard, Lucy lives at the Jacksonville Zoo.

United States

Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati, OH

Columbus Zoo, Columbus, OH

Great Ape Trust, Des Moines, IA (not officially a zoo!)

Fort Worth Zoo, Fort Worth, TX

Jacksonville Zoo, Jacksonville, FL

Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN

Milwaukee Zoo, Milwaukee, WI

San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA

San Diego Wild Animal Park, San Diego, CA

Europe

Planckendael Belgium

Apenheul Primate Park, Apeldorn, The Netherlands

Berlin Zoo, Berlin, Germany

Frankfurt Zoo, Frankfurt, Germany

Köln Zoo, Köln, Germany

Leipzig Zoo, Leipzig, Germany

Stuttgart Zoo, Stuttgart, Germany

Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire, England

Wuppertal Zoo, Wuppertal, Germany

If you have been to any of these zoos, we’d love to hear all about it!!!

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

As I promised yesterday, here is Delfi’s story of bonobos meeting in the Zoo. Delfi is the Director of Animal Programs at the Jacksonville Zoo and was instrumental in allowing our photographer, Marian Brickner, to document the lives of Lucy and her family for our children’s book, I‘m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo.

This is the story of a male being introduced to the bonobo family at his new zoo home, starting with one of the established females and her son.

Their first meeting went very well. They did the things that bonobos do when they first meet such as touch each other, look each other over, make a lot of fun bonobo noise, share food and establish dominance. Apparently this male was quite the gentleman and made no threatening gestures towards the female or her son. He knew his place - meaning that he understood full well that this new female friend ranked higher than him. As he moved towards the food, she expertly blocked his path - essentially controlling the food stash - and he politely moved in a different direction; he did what she told him to do!

But, this is our favorite, favorite part of the story. After their first meeting, the zookeepers routinely separate the bonobos once again until their next meeting. They split the bonobos up by guiding them each through separate doors, and it’s done. But the next time they brought these two bonobos together, the apes knew what was coming. When the zookeepers started the process to separate them, the male and female bonobos refused to part. They moved together closely and would not let go so that as the zookeepers encouraged them to move through each door, they did so together. They outsmarted the zookeepers who had no choice but to leave them together for that time.

More from our Delfi interview coming soon!

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Lucy doing a handstand! She’s so big now! photo by Marian Brickner

Delfi Messinger is the Director of Animal Programs at the Jacksonville Zoo, home of Lucy, Kaleb, Lorel and Lexi. And, YES, this means that she can go see the bonobos whenever she wants! Delfi was also a key player in the creation of I’m Lucy. Without her kindness, her love for bonobos and her gracious permission for our photographer, Marian Brickner, to take a zillion pictures of Lucy and her family, this book would not exist today. Many, many thanks to you, Delfi.

We got the chance to talk to Delfi the other day and, literally, had to force ourselves to hang up the phone. She has so many incredible stories, we could have listened all day.

We originally contacted Delfi because of the post we wrote on May 6th where we wondered: are zoos good or bad? This post has been read more than any other post and folks seem very passionate about the subject…so we wanted to go straight to the source at one of our favorite zoos, and see what’s up. Here’s what she had to say:

Bonobo Kids: We know that there are good zoos and bad zoos - and we know that Jacksonville is a very good zoo. Can you tell us why?

Delfi: I’d love to use bonobos specifically to illustrate this point - they are such a great example of why Jacksonville is such a good zoo.

First, we’re an AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums) zoo, and incidentally all bonobos in the U.S. are in AZA zoos which means they are in the best facilities in terms of care and conservation and education. The bonobos in Europe are in the European equivalent of AZA zoos.

Jacksonville got the bonobos in 1998, so we’ve had them for 10 years. And one of the cool things about this zoo, like San Diego (which also has bonobos) is that we have pretty good, warm weather, so the bonobos get to be outside most of the year. We always keep them as close as we can to their real habitat. We pay close attention to the rule that what goes on in mother nature is essential to meeting the apes’ psychological and emotional natures.

For example, with bonobos, they stay with their mothers for years, nursing until they are about five. Then, the males continue to stay with their mothers for life, and it’s the females that leave the group when they are teenagers (around 10 years old) - then, they bond with the females of a new group. This is markedly different from other animal groups, where it’s the male that leaves. As a zoo community, we need to facilitate this natural movement, and we have to do it across zoo lines.

So, back to why Jacksonville is such a great zoo. We work closely with Species Survival Plan (SSP) to manage our bonobos. Many endangered zoo animals are managed by SSPs. They monitor all of the bonobos and help facilitate the survival of the species. They incorporate many factors to do this, including, talking to the IRs (Institutional Representatives) which includes people like me and the actual bonobo handlers at the zoos and direct knowledge of the bonobos’ actual personalities. For instance, you would need to be careful with the move of a super dominate female because she needs to get along with the other females at the new zoo. The SSP also studies the genetics of each animal as well, making sure that new family pairings will create strong baby bonobos, ensuring their survival.

Coming tomorrow: The story of a bonobo arrival at the Jacksonville Zoo…our favorite bonobo story to date!

Delfi also has a wonderful blog where she talks about her amazing work saving bonobos and chimps in Africa and her daily work at the Jacksonville Zoo. You’ll see some great photos of Lucy, Kaleb and the rest of the bonobo crew!

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

At Bonobo Kids, we are all about REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE so we were psyched to hear that there is something you can do with your old sneakers. Nike has a program called Reuse a Shoe where they take old athletic shoes of any brand (not just Nike) and grind them up to use for playgrounds and playing surfaces.

According to Nike, ‘The following list shows approximately how many pairs of recycled athletic shoes generally go into making each surface:
• Outdoor basketball court: 2,500 pairs
• Outdoor tennis court:2,500 pairs
• Full Field or soccer pitch: 50,000 - 75,000 pairs*
• Mini soccer field: 10,000-20,000 pairs
• Running track: 75,000 pairs*
• Playground: 2,500 pairs
• Indoor basketball court: 2,500 pairs
• Indoor synthetic basketball court: 2,500 pairs’

Their partners, the makers of these athletic playing surface, incorporate the ground up sneaker material into their usual recipe.

To learn more about this program and to find out where you can drop off your old sneaks, click here.

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

As the debates surrounding climate change, global warming and human contributions to environmental damage continue, real and visible environmental changes are happening. Here is an example from Alaska:

Ice is very heavy. So, as the Alaskan glaciers melt and their weight is removed, the earth reacts by springing up, or rising away from the Earth’s core. It’s called isostatic rebound. This phenomenon makes it appear as if the land is expanding - and it actually is! One family’s land is growing at a rate of about one acre per year as the shoreline moves away!

Another interesting result is that gravity is affected. The force of gravity begins in the center of the Earth, so the farther you get from the center, the weaker gravity’s pull becomes. For example, it’s stronger at sea level than it is on top of Everest. So as the ice melts and the land rises, the force of gravity on that land shifts.

What do you think? Do these changes seem like the result of climate change? What changes are happening in the Congo where the bonobos live?

To read more, click here.

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

It’s a beautiful, hot, sunny day here on Martha’s Vineyard…and before we head to the beach, we wanted to share some tips on how to be environmentally conscious in the sun and surf. When we treat our Earth well, it affects every plant and creature on the planet…from the dandelions to the rainforests, from the people to the bonobos.

1. Carry in, carry out! It is so important that we don’t leave trash on the beach. Trash, including plastic bags and food wrappers, are dangerous to both beach creatures and humans. Beach creatures can try to eat them or get caught in them which can either injure or kill them, and humans can step on trash and be injured as well. Of course, a trash covered beach is just unpleasant - no one wants to spend their day outside surrounded by garbage!

2. Don’t feed the animals! Natural feeding patterns can be disrupted when humans start to intervene. Sea birds were made to eat fish and bugs, not your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Not only is human food harmful to their health, but nature does a wonderful job of keeping balance, and when humans disrupt the balance, long term and devastating effects can occur. For instance, if the seagulls stop eating the small fish, they will overpopulate, eating all of the tiny fish. Now there will be no small fish to eat the sea algae and it will overgrow until the shore line is smothered with algae, making it difficult for small creatures living by the shore to survive…and on and on. Get our drift?

3. Use natural sunscreens and bug repellants. Whatever products you put on your body will be left in the ocean when you jump in, so using products that are non-toxic and biodegradable is the best solution (for your own health too!).

One natural sunscreen is pure, virgin coconut oil - just put it on when you get out of the shower. If you are going to be in the sun at the height of the day, we recommend Aubrey Organic sunscreen as a body and environmentally safe answer.

As for bug spray, stay away from DEET - a known environmental and health hazard. Our highest recommendation goes to an herbal bug repellent made here on Martha’s Vineyard! Check out Island’s Own where you can order your spray (and they make a great poison ivy remedy as well).

4. Pay attention to posted signs! Signs posted by beaches, towns and environmental groups often block off areas of the beach that protect nesting birds. When humans walk through these areas, the natural habitat of birds can be ruined. Also, many beach signs warn people to stay off of cliffs or leave clay in its place to protect the natural environments from erosion.

5. Be a good neighbor. Part of being green means being part of a community and treating the people, the creatures and the land around you with total respect. Beaches can be crowded…you have the power to make the beach a safe and fun place by being considerate and kind to those around you.

HAVE FUN!!!

Update: One of our favorite readers has pointed out that using coconut oil affects the palm oil crisis that is hurting our orangutan cousins. We certainly did not mean to save the bonobos while hurting the orangutans. We are looking to see if choosing organic, unprocessed coconut oil harvested by small companies (often family owned and committed to the environment) is still damaging to the earth and/or the orangutans. If anyone finds this information before us, please let us know and provide proof! Thanks, BK

Help Spread the Word!!!

Powered by Bookmarkify™