Mountain Gorillas

Attached is an information link about mountain gorillas: http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/mountaingorilla (photographs below courtesy of this website)

The Ocean

When I was a little girl, I absolutely loved the ocean. My family and our close friends would go to Stinson and rent a house on the man-made lagoon. We spent hours playing in the sand on our favorite stretch of beach on the natural lagoon. We invented tag games ("man in the chair tag" was a favorite), and watched in horror as fishermen caught leopard sharks. I wasn't afraid of going in the water. The only thing I detested about the lagoon was the seaweed. When I got older, though, I would walk in the surf and maybe go as far in as my upper thighs, but I wouldn't dare boogyboard, an activity I had once enjoyed. I thought that maybe I was just getting older, and the activities that I had once spent days participating in were now boring. Then I realized that it wasn't my transition into adolescence, but the ambiguity of the water itself that was keeping me on shore. There were creatures beneath the lagoon's surface, creatures I knew very little about, mainly bat rays and leopard sharks. I wasn't afraid of the creatures hurting me, heck, I was giant compared to them.
Humans live on land (obviously), so when they are in a body of water, they are truly in another being's home. The ocean is powerful, and it must be respected. Imagine being submerged (with scuba gear) in open ocean. You can only see a short distance in front of you and side to side. You do not know what is beneath or below you. You are vulnerable because you are in an environment that is so unfamilar and foreign. Your senses are not as strong as they are on land. The ocean is a wonderful habitat, but it is not ours. It wasn't until recently that I again realized my love for the ocean and the creatures in it. For the longest time, I was terrified of whales, not because I thought they would hurt me, but because of their sheer size. I found this to be incredibly humbling. Now, I love watching videos on YouTube about whales and asking question after question about their behavior. We must protect and respect our oceans and the many creatures that thrive in them.

Bolinas Lagoon (parksconservancy.org)

Plastic Bags

I just emailed Target, asking why the corporation has not made the switch from plastic to paper bags. Hope to hear back soon!

Quick Note

I would like to inform any readers of this blog about my intentions regarding what I have written and plan to write. I hope to share my opinions about the injustice imposed on the environment and the many creatures that enrich it. Please post comments; I would like this blog to be a discussion about different environmental issues. Although the title of this blog suggests that its subject matter would consist solely of primate related facts and opinions, I hope to remark on other creatures and the dangers they presently face. Furthermore, I wish to empower people to protect the planet we and many other animals (yes, humans are animals!) call home. Thanks.

Chimpanzees

Last night I watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the one starring James Franco. Although the plot is completely fictional, certain aspects of it are true. For example, primates, such as chimpanzees are used for medical research everyday. Creatures so similar to us humans should not be used as tools; they deserve to be free, which brings me to another point. When I was in ninth grade, I went on a trip to the Oakland Zoo with some members of my high school. Arriving at the chimpanzee display, which it essentially was, an enclosure of beautiful primates munching on green leaves and staring at us, I was struck by the primate's gentle nature and overall behavior. They were stunning! As I bathed in awe, I began to see beyond the seemingly innocent and harmless enclosure in which they lived. Now, before you interject, I would like to say that I understand that some animals are kept in zoos for their own protection, perhaps because they are injured or maybe because they simply do not have the skills they need to survive on their own in the wild. On the other hand, it isn't natural, and who is to blame? Well, humans. As one of my family friends put it, "Humans are the aliens on this planet" (thanks Jeff, and sorry if it isn't word for word). He was correct. Most humans sit on a thrown with the mindset that they rule the world and every other being on this planet lives to serve them. We must open our eyes and learn to respect Mother Nature. If not, we run the risk of destroying a planet that is not even ours to begin with. Until my next post, please read the following link about the top 25 endangered primates: http://www.primate-sg.org/T25full07.htm

(World Book)

(World Book)