어릴 적 고릴라, 12년만 재회에 한눈에 알아봐...In astonishing images, the enduring bond of a young woman with wild gorillas..VIDEO
Tansy of the apes:
In astonishing images, the enduring bond of a young woman with wild gorillas, 23 years after she was pictured playing with a 300lb primate as a baby
어릴 적 고릴라, 12년만 재회에 한눈에 알아봐...
올해 25살의 탠시 아스피놀은 그녀와 어린시절부터 지내왔던 고릴라 가족과 재회에 성공했다.
2002년 자라와 빔이가 열대우림으로 돌아간 지 12년 만 이었다.
몇 달전에 아버지 다미안과와 딸 탠시는 그들을 만나기 위해 가봉으로 갔다.
작은 보트로 깊은 정글 속에서 그들을 찾던 중 불가능할 것 같은 일이 실제로 일어났다.
놀랍게도 2마리가 아스피놀을 만나기 위해 열대우림에서 모습을 나타낸 것이다.
그것도 단 몇시간만에...
자라는 기다렸다는 듯이 그들을 힘차게 껴 안았다.
인간과 고릴라의 따뜻한 교감을 보여주는 감동의 장면들이다.
[Editor 황기철]
Tansy Aspinall, 25, was reunited with gorillas she knew as a child
Her father took controversial pictures of a gorilla holding her as a baby
Years later the pair went to Gabon to track down their beloved apes
Amazingly two of them emerged from the rainforest to meet the Aspinalls
One of the gorillas, Djala, sniffed Tansy before recognising her scent
Heart-warming pictures show gorilla and woman embracing each other
By Angella Johnson For The Mail On Sunday
They are scenes of extraordinary tenderness – and trust.
The first photograph shows the controversial moment that a father allowed his 18-month-old daughter to play with a 300lb gorilla.
And the experience seems to have taught the little girl, Tansy Aspinall, a lesson in confidence and courage.
Scroll down for video
Tender: The controversial picture of Tansy at 18 months in the gorilla pen at her father's zoo in Kent
Tansy has no recollection of her first close encounter with a gorilla at Howletts Zoo, owned by her father
Reunited: After ten years apart, Tansy and Djala make friends again in the Gabon rainforest
The next picture also shows Tansy, now grown up, and yet again putting her trust in the arms of a massive male primate. This time, though, the embrace is the result of a truly touching reunion.
Tansy is the eldest daughter of maverick conservationist Damian Aspinall, and the gorilla she is cuddling is Djala, one of the animals she played with as a child at Aspinall’s Howlett Wild Animal Park in Kent.
During their embrace they rub noses, share kisses and sniff each other in a deep animal ritual. The bond is clearly strong – and made even more remarkable by the fact that this was the first time they’d seen each other for 12 years, after Djala was returned to the wild in 2002.
The reunion, film of which can be watched on MailOnline, took place four months ago in the rain forest of Gabon when father and daughter journeyed in a small boat up a river deep into the jungle, on what seemed like an impossible mission to find Djala and another gorilla, Bims, who also used to live at the animal park.
Remarkably, after Tansy and her father had been searching for just a few hours in the tropical heat, they spotted two familiar faces peering quizzically from the dense forest.
And, despite not having seen their human friends for many years, the now fully grown male apes emerged to enthusiastically embrace them.
Old friends: Djala wanders out of undergrowth to check on the visitors in the boat on the river
Is it you? After greeting Damian Aspinall, Djala rubs and sniffs Tansy in a bonding ritual
Tansy, now 25 and a jewellery designer, has no recollection of her first close encounter with a gorilla, when her father put her into the gorilla pen and captured the moment on camera. The video caused a huge public outcry when he at last released it publicly two years ago.
Tansy does, however, vividly remember playing with Djala and Bims, and the trip to the vast reserve in Gabon that her father’s foundation runs was, she says, like a happy family reunion.
She recalls: ‘My sister Clary and I often played with Djala and Bims on the lawn and sometimes we went into the cages with other gorillas. I loved being around them all, but those two guys were really very special to us, like our relatives.
‘I last saw them when I was ten and they were being crated up for the trip to the conservation site in Gabon.
‘When we set out to find them again I was a little apprehensive at first because I didn’t know if they would remember me after all that time, or if they had become hardened by life and possibly dangerous.
‘So, it was amazing to see that not only did they know me, but they had such gentle looks on their faces that I felt immediately safe and reassured. At no point did I feel fear. They had some rough and tumble with dad, but were really very gentle with me.
‘Dad greeted them first and made sure it was safe before I got close. He would never let me near an overly aggressive gorilla.’
Sitting in the elegant surroundings of her father’s headquarters in Belgravia, she certainly shows no signs of any adverse effects from the encounter. This is not entirely surprising, given that her grandfather was the legendary gambler and maverick zoo keeper John Aspinall, who collected exotic pets and passed on his all-consuming passion for wildlife.
He insisted that his keepers should interact closely with all his animals – a contentious policy that saw five of them killed during the 1980s and 1990s. And it was a tradition, Tansy says, for family members to meet and interact with the gorillas.
Hug: Tansy and the gorilla enjoy a warm embrace as the pair reacquaint themselves with each other
Shared passion: Tansy and her father Damian, 54, have a shared love for wild animals and have devoted time to saving endangered species
Damian’s childhood playmates included tigers, wolves and gorillas, and he has taken on the work started by his father with zeal. The 54-year-old millionaire casino-owner, once a regular on the international party circuit, has devoted his life and considerable fortune to saving endangered species.
He has run Howletts and Port Lympne wildlife parks in Kent as well as the Aspinall Foundation, since his father’s death in 2000, and has just published a book charting the foundation’s 30 years of work, to celebrate the landmark occasion.
He is understandably proud that for the past 15 years the charity has done more than any other organisation to breed animals threatened with extinction – especially gorillas – and return them back into the wild
He says: ‘We have sent bison to Romania, hyenas to South Africa, gibbons to Indonesia and even wild horses back to Mongolia. A few days ago we released eight Javan langurs into the wild of Indonesia. We are the only organisation in the world doing this and fills me with pride.’
Like his father, who made his fortune from his Mayfair casinos and spent it on creating country estates for his wild animals, Damian uses the profits of his property and gambling empire to keep his charity afloat, as well as funding the patrolling of the foundation’s conservancies in Africa, which span about 1 million acres.
He employs 24-hour armed guards to protect the animals and his staff from poachers, along with vets, whisperers and naturalists to nurture and teach the gorillas, rhinos and monkeys how to live in the wild as they make the transition to freedom.
Although his maverick style of conservation has long been looked on with suspicion by the zoological establishment, there is no questioning the success of his methods. They include giving his animals the freshest fruit and vegetables, Sunday roasts and even chocolates on special occasions.
Good old days: Baby Tansy with her mother Louise and one of the gorillas at the zoo in Kent
But, Damian insists, what makes his foundation the best at what it does, is the fact that the animals are treated as equals. ‘We love them and recognise that they have as much right to be here as humans. We spend £10,000 a week buying the best fruit and vegetables from Covent Garden. Why should they get second rate food – we don’t.’
Of course, he has not made friends in the establishment with his criticism of conventional zoos and what he calls ‘their barbaric ethos’. He would like them phased out, ‘with a few exceptions,’ over the next 30 years. ‘It’s like locking children up - it’s deeply unethical,’ he insists.
Since its inception, the charity has enjoyed unprecedented breeding and reintroduction successes with gorillas, with over 130 births and over 80 of the animals released back into the wild – more than any other organisation in the world.
There have been disappointments too; a family of ten gorillas that Damian and Tansy took to Gabon in June has already lost half its members. It is believed they may have been killed by other gorillas.
Despite this setback, Damian says the other freed primates are living completely wild and are happy, healthy and calm. ‘Djala and Bims looked healthy and settled. It’s nonsense that some scientists say they’ve lost their wild instincts. These animals have a right to go home. Nobody can convince me they don’t belong here.’
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