Slow Loris: Experiencing the World of Smell

The Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang) moves at a leisurely pace through the forests of Southeast Asia. With her slow and steady hand-over-hand movements, Slow Loris deliberately goes from tree top to tree top. Since She often hangs upside down as well, naturalists first believed that Slow Loris was a relative of the sloth of the Americas. Instead, She is a prosimian, a forerunner of monkeys.

As an omnivore, Slow Loris feeds on leaves, insects and small lizards. Using her keen sense of smell, She hunts at night for insects that are poisonous to many animals. Following the scent trail, Slow Loris tracks the insect. Moving unhurriedly, She sneaks up on her victim unnoticed. Then holding onto one branch with her hind foot, Slow Loris quietly reaches out and grabs her prey with her fingers.

Slow Loris communicates to other slow lorises using scent. To leave a message for them, She will urinate on her hands and wipe them on branches. The other slow lorises read her scent markings, and leave messages of their own. Scent acts as a language between these prosimians.

Besides her acute sense of smell, Slow Loris is also known for her toxic bite. First, She licks her scent gland on her upper arm, which produces a toxic secretion. Mixing the secretion with her salvia, Slow Loris grooms her baby for protection. When She forages at night, She will park her infant and leave. Furthermore, when She is threatened, Slow Loris will bite. The toxin from her bite will cause painful swelling and death.

Most people have seen Slow Loris in videos being tickled. What these videos do not tell anyone is that She is reacting from fear. Furthermore, shining a light into her large eyes hurts Slow Loris, since She is a nocturnal animal. Because of her cuteness, Slow Loris is a the victim of the illegal pet trade. Before selling Her, traders will pull her teeth out. Because of this, She dies a slow painful death. To help to stop the illegal pet trade, it is better to work to keep her home forests intact and educate people about her inability to live in captivity.

People can learn from Slow Loris how to fully experience the world of smell. She shows them how to communicate by smell. Imagine the smells of coffee, rotten eggs, baked breads, and then feel what each conveys. Go through your day noticing the smells of your life. Ponder what they tell you. Experiences will become more memorable with smell.

Gorilla: Calmness and Strength

Lowland Gorilla

When people were first introduced to Gorillas, they believed that these primates were fiercesome monsters. King Kong symbolized people’s fear of this mammal. Since Gorillas live in the most inaccessible regions of the forests and mountains of Africa, They were the last members of the Great Ape Family to be found. Therefore, ordinary people had no ideas about what real Gorillas were like.

The largest and most powerful of all living Primates, Gorilla is actually peaceful and sociable. His easy-going nature has made it possible for several groups of Gorillas to coexist peacefully in the same region. When a strange Gorilla appears, the eldest Gorilla (Silverback) hoots excitedly, building up to an ear splitting roar. Silverback Gorilla will charge but stops short of touching the intruder. This will usually frighten the other Gorilla away.

Within His Troop, Gorilla forms a strong attachment with everyone. The strongest and most mature male – the Silverback – rules the Troop. He decides where they will eat and sleep. He is responsible for their safety and closely guards them. If Silverback Gorilla sees the Troop in any kind of danger, He will fight to protect them.

A plant eater, Gorilla especially likes bamboo shoots. Contrary to the movies, He is not a carnivore. After a day of foraging for plants on the ground, Gorilla spends the night in a tree. Nest making is simple; He rips off several branches and places them in tree nooks for a bed. Gorilla’s typical day consists of eating in the morning and evening, traveling during the day, napping in the afternoon, traveling, and then making his nest for the night.

Being very calm, Gorilla is not easily bothered. In fact, social grooming can relax Him into going into a trance. Gorilla shows interest by doing a task for its own reward. Most intelligent of the (nonhuman) Great Apes, He knows and uses language, when taught. Zoologists think that Gorilla has self-awareness like a human does.

Gorilla teaches calmness and strength. Remaining serene, He goes about his affairs. Even when a strange Gorilla shows up, He will not immediately attack. Taking control of the situation, Gorilla will state his position firmly but forcefully. As a last resort, He will attack. Learn from Gorilla how to act calmly and effectively. And keep your aggressive impulses in check.

Notes:
1. Gorillas are endangered throughout most of their range.

2. The Ape Family is really comprised of two families, the Great Apes (Hominidae) and the Lesser Apes (Hylobatidae). Lesser Apes are the gibbons. Among the Great Apes are gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and humans.

3. Zoologists divide gorillas into two groups – lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei). Lowland gorillas live in the dense forests of Africa. Meanwhile mountain gorillas live in the mountains of Central Africa. The difference between the two is that lowland gorillas have short hair and weigh less.

EARLIEST HUMAN FAMILY: Honor Diversity

 EARLY HUMAN FAMILY

Long ago, the Earth was populated by many kinds of humans.  Today, we modern humans (Homo sapiens) are alone on the Earth (except perhaps for the “Hobbit” (H. floresiensis) of Indonesia). The development of Humankind from prehistory to modern times is like an orchard of fruit trees.  Some of the trees continuously bore fruit, while some of the other trees cross-pollinated with the fruit-bearing ones.  After a while some trees died off, while the other trees flourished wildly.  However, eventually all the trees died off out except for one (perhaps two) lone tree. 

            Tracing the Human line, back in time, is difficult, because the fossil records are incomplete.  Since it involves humans, we react to our history as we would with our own families. Like all families, our Early Human Family is full of quirky and long-lost people.  There are those relatives we would rather not think about, as well as those relatives who we are proud to be related to.  For example, consider the difference between Cro-Magnons (H. sapiens) and Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis), in our Early Human Family, and how we react to each.

EARLIEST HUMAN FAMILY: Honor Diversity

            Four to two million years ago (mya), several Families of Early Humans roamed Africa.  As the climate became drier, the forests transformed into grasslands.  The Early Humans walked upright, but still regarded trees as their homes.  Walking upright gave Them an advantage because They could see various predators lurking in the grass. (One predator, Dinofelis (a saber-toothed cat) had often feasted on Early Humans.)

            The Earliest Families of Humans were Australopithecus, Kenyantropus, and Paranthropus.  They all could manipulate small objects, which would allow the next Family to make tools.  The most famous of these Earliest Families was Australopithecus.  “Lucy” (Au. Afarensis) was once thought to be the “missing link” between apes and humans.  The only Kenyantropus was K. platyops who was named for his flat face.  Meanwhile, Paranthropus, nicknamed “Nutcracker Man”, had strong jaws to eat nuts and hard plants.     However, only Australopithecus developed into Homo, the next Family of Early Humans.

Fred Spoor, a noted paleontologist stressed that, “East Africa was a crowded place with multiple species.” Imagine a world of different Families of Humans, with each with their own sphere of influence possessing special talents.  Simply because one Family seemed “less advanced” than another Family, did not mean that They could not survive at all. These Earliest Humans could successfully cope with the particular challenges in their lives.

These Earliest Humans show us that it is good to experiment, and to encourage diversity. Though some of Them died off, all of the Earliest Humans contributed to the whole of Humankind.  We need to honor the efforts of these Earliest People in becoming who we are today.