One Man and His Ape

One of my favourite days out is to a very special animal sanctuary nestled in the gorgeous Dorset countryside.  Monkey World is an internationally respected haven for unwanted apes and monkeys, a place where the abused, neglected and abandoned can find refuge and receive care from experts in their field.  It was founded by two extraordinary men, Jim Cronin and Jeremy Keeling, and I recently read Mr Keeling's excellent autobiography.

'Jeremy and Amy' is the story of Mr Keeling and his foster 'daughter' Amy.  She's stubborn and

'Jeremy and Amy'
by Jeremy Keeling
(Short Books, 2011)

grumpy and has plenty of attitude.  Oh, and she's also an orang-utan.  Keeling first meets the newborn Amy in 1983 while pursuing a career caring for a variety of exotic animals in both public and private collections, The two pound two ounce baby orang-utan is so frail her survival seems impossible.  But, with Keeling's help, survive she does and Jeremy and Amy develop an incredible bond.  Through amazing highs and heartbreaking lows, she remains a constant companion and an inspiration to Keeling and his work rescuing monkeys and apes from countries around the world.

This book could very easily have slipped into a cutesy, anthropomorphic, semi-biographical story about how caring for a characterful orang-utan helps a human find peace with themselves and the world.  Fortunately, it didn't and I think anyone picking it up and expecting some sort of light read about how funny and almost human animals are would, initially at least, be very disappointed.

In reality, it's the human at the centre of this story and the book includes some very upsetting sections which don't sit at all with the 'aren't animals funny?' sort of narrative.  Delivered in Keeling's characteristic matter-of-fact style, it's impossible not to be affected by some of his terrible experiences, particularly in childhood.  To call his early family life 'dysfunctional' seems the ultimate understatement.  Equally, I ended this book with so much respect for him as someone who could easily have slipped into self-destruction, but instead decided to work hard to make a future for himself and, as a result, found a way to make a real difference.

I found 'Jeremy and Amy' a real page turner, but to say I enjoyed it would be crass and insensitive.  I cried, I laughed and, as with 'We Bought a Zoo', had my respect for the people who care for the planet's animals reinforced.

It must've taken some bravery for Mr Keeling to publish this book, so I would like to thank him for sharing his story.  (Let's hope I never bump into him at Monkey World, I'm bound to make a complete 'nana of myself.)

Overall, 'Jeremy and Amy' is a story of hope and courage and I would thoroughly recommend it.

Now, back to the books!

Tiger Feat

Although I worry that I shouldn't, I bloody love zoos.  To be honest, I could probably write a blog just about them, but I won't, because, well, that's not what you want to hear about really, is it?  And after all, surely the next best thing to going to a zoo is reading about them and the amazing people that run them.

'We Bought a Zoo'
by Benjamin Mee
(Harper, 2008/9)

I've just finished 'We Bought a Zoo', the unusual story of how journalist Benjamin Mee and his family ended up owning Dartmoor Zoological Park in Devon.  At the start of this story, Mee, his wife Katherine and two young children have just moved to France and are settling into a new life abroad, quite literally building themselves a home in the sunshine.  But then Mee hears the call of the wild.  His sister sends him details of a UK zoo that has just come on the market and the opportunity is irresistible.  Benjamin, his mum and siblings decide to follow their hearts and buy the failing zoo.  But can they overcome years of neglect, Houdini-like animals and cold hearted bankers to get Dartmoor off the endangered list?

This really is an enchanting story of passionate commitment and, in many ways, living a dream, but if you were expecting a perky, happy-go-lucky tale, think again.  While this book is very charming and down-to-earth, there is also personal tragedy at its heart.  Six months after buying the zoo, Mr Mee's wife, Katherine, dies.  As a reader, I appreciated the honesty of Mr Mee's writing about what happened and it makes his work for the zoo seem all the more incredible.

Despite the tough subject matter, this book is written in a flowing and conversational style which makes it relatively easy to read.  Part of me feels that it could do with some work in places.  For example, some sentences seem to go on like boa constrictors, so long that you can't remember their beginnings, and periodically words are repeated within lines, which is quite distracting for a language nerd like me.  I would've liked more structure too, but I suspect that this book was written around the many other duties which keep a Zoo Director busy and might have been rushed as an additional opportunity to bring more money into the park.  As such, I'm not going to nitpick about what is relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, this is a charming and thought-provoking book that I would recommend to anyone who has ever fallen in love with a zoo.  But it is just the beginning.  Like me, other readers will want to know what happens next, more about the animals, whether Mee ever got his zebras, what it's like to actually run a working zoo rather than just prepare it for opening.  I'm lucky, I've actually visited Dartmoor Zoological Park and seen what's happening, but even I can't go as often as I would like.  So while quite a few people will be getting copies of this as Christmas presents, what I really want this year is a sequel, perhaps even a series of sequels.  Now that would be animal magic.