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[Cartman86]

The Video

NeoGAF thread on the video

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/15/1371165/-Damian-Aspinall-Kills-His-Gorillas#

60 Minutes did a piece on him. The man in that video is Damian Aspinall. He has made it his mission to free the Gorillas his father had been raising at the "private" zoo called Howletts Wild Animal Park. In addition to the one in the video there are many others. Problem is they are raised by humans don't know how to live in the wild. 5 out of the 11 have died. They are unsure if it was other Gorillas or poachers.

Just from watching the 60 Minutes report, it was clear that this effort was doomed from the start. However well intentioned Aspinall may have been, expecting animals raised by humans to survive in the jungle was naïve bordering upon stupid. Gorilla experts such as those at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund warned that gorillas, being susceptible to shock when their surroundings were changed, would not do well in the wild after spending twenty years being cared for by people. Aspinall brushed off their advice, saying that only a "maverick" like himself could solve the problem of animal captivity.

However, the report quickly revealed the flaws in Aspinall's plan. One video included in the story showed Aspinall reuniting with one of his favorite gorillas, Kwibi. Kwibi rushed out to see what was happening the minute he heard Aspinall's boat nearby. As charming as the reunion may have been, rushing towards signs of human activity is extremely dangerous for a gorilla in the wild, given the threat posed by poachers. Furthermore, Kwibi, after meeting with Aspinall again, refused to let him go when he tried to leave. This was not the reaction of a wild animal, but of a domesticated animal that has been abandoned in the wild.

Furthermore, although the trainers at the "gorilla school" tried to teach the gorillas survival skills, to lure the animals into the wild they had to provide them with food. Associating humans with food is probably the best way to get a wild animal killed.

At the end of the report, Aspinall, in a stunning display of self-absorption, said his opponents would be "jumping up and down" and gloating. To which I said to the television "No, jackass, they're not happy about this. Your stupidity got five lowland gorillas killed." Lowland gorillas are considered a critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. To put that in perspective, the IUCN has a scale of endangerness, with the only categories more severe than critically endangered being "extinct in the wild" and straight up extinct. Aspinall sacrificed five animals on the altar of his own ideology.

 

[Coconut]

The gorillas died because of poaching correct?

 

[Cartman86]

The gorillas died because of poaching correct?

According to this story they don't entirely know.

It is thought they were mauled by an adult male gorilla, but others have suggested poachers or saboteurs could have been to blame.

 

[Ventara]

Very sad to hear. He was an idiot and shouldn't have been in charge there. And after he read the report he was more concerned with how his opposition would react? Idiot and an ass.

 

[Nebula]

This is heartbreaking. They wanted to come back with him. They probably lived in fear the entire time they were out there.

 

[kaizoku]

Are the others still in the wild or have they been rescued?

 

[Tesseract]

amy loves damian

 

[Effect]

Damn shame. This certainly did not have to happen at all.

 

[Rentahamster]

At the end of the report, Aspinall, in a stunning display of self-absorption, said his opponents would be "jumping up and down" and gloating. To which I said to the television "No, jackass, they're not happy about this. Your stupidity got five lowland gorillas killed." Lowland gorillas are considered a critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. To put that in perspective, the IUCN has a scale of endangerness, with the only categories more severe than critically endangered being "extinct in the wild" and straight up extinct. Aspinall sacrificed five animals on the altar of his own ideology.

The world runs on PR.

 

[ThusZarathustra]

I read the thread title as "Godzilla" and was completely baffled for a second there ...

 

[Trojita]

It's sad. Any sane animal lover would see it better that they lived in domestication for the rest of their lives.

Guy doesn't deserve a gorilla hug.

 

[Oemenia]

Is it possible to reintroduce animals to the wild? The guy was sincere at least.

 

[Arcteryx]

Kind of an idiotic thing to do, as well-intentioned as it was.

PBS had a thing on animals that had been raised by humans and let back into the wild...shocker at what happened...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbEhd8Rz73g

 

[Ventara]

Is it possible to reintroduce animals to the wild? The guy was sincere at least.

Yes, it is. Though the situation will obviously be different depending on species, habitat and time spent in captivity, among other things.

 

[Cartman86]

I read the thread title as "Godzilla" and was completely baffled for a second there ...

From the thread in 2013

 

[GungHo]

Is it possible to reintroduce animals to the wild? The guy was sincere at least.

It depends on the animal, but the challenge with these animals was that they were all raised in captivity and had no hunting skills. They did show some very young gorillas (not the one that stood up and ran across the bridge) on the report and noted that those guys would have less of a hard time since those guys never got used to humans.