Communing with apes has always been a lifetime dream of mine; every once in a while I come across an article or guidebook explaining just how it can be done.
An article from Sunday’s LA Times is the latest clipping I’ve filed away with this in mind. Journalist Diane Haithman traveled to Tanzania’s Mahale Mountains where she stayed in a posh resort and climbed into the hills every day to observe a band of chimpanzees eat, forage, fight, and lounge about.
Her modern day Planet of the Apes adventure didn’t feature a collapsed Statue of Liberty on the beachhead, but it did include so much ape-spotting that she was eventually able to recognize a few of the simians by name. Over 700 chimpanzees live in the mountains, but not one of them has learned to speak English yet. So, I guess we still have a few more years before they take over the planet.