Lucy the Chimpanzee

            Lucy, a chimpanzee was taken in by Maurice Temerlin and his wife Jane. They raised Lucy as if she was their own child; treating her like any other human child. They wanted to see how human a chimpanzee could be. What they found out was indeed she could be. She could speak in sign language, which she used to combine words to create phrases for things she didn't know the actual word for proving she had an incredibly developed her brain. She even dressed herself, ate normal human meals, and even became attracted to human men, not to other chimpanzee males as would be expected. When Lucy got to old and challenging for Maurice and Jane they finally had to let her go. They let her go into the hands of Janis Carter. She became the caretaker for Lucy and many other chimpanzees as she led them to a lone island in order for them to finally be free. However Lucy's, being so human-like could not handle being abandoned and she was depressed for a long time. But, Janis, being a devoted caretaker, didn't leave for more than a year as she hoped Lucy would finally become comfortable with her surroundings and peers. Finally Janis left and returned a couple times to check up on Lucy. The second time she arrived on the island she was horrified to see the bones of Lucy. She had been poached and her hands were taken. Janis believed it happened because Lucy, being friendly and not afraid to be with humans, probably walked up to the poachers, not knowing what they were going to do to her. The last years of Lucy's life went on slowly and with not much enthusiasm, but she did teach the world about the incredible minds of chimpanzees

           Overall Lucy taught the world much about chimpanzees brain and intelligence. She taught us that by being nurtured you can become a whole other species, and that nature can only play so much of a role when one is enveloped in another (similar) species environment and culture. She taught us that the things we do subconsciously, are incredible, like language and simple things of creating words and such.
            Before I learned about Lucy, I knew chimpanzees were smart, but I never understood to what extent. Lucy was a groundbreaking discovery because she literally became a human. Besides the looks and small differences, she acted as a child. However, I never realized how close we truly are to chimpanzees.
            I believe the experiment was not worth while for Lucy's sake because it ended in disspare and sadness. However, for those who saw this as a ground-breaking experiment believe it was important and definitely worthwhile. To me, I feel it could go either way because we learned so much yet we did put the life of a wild chimpanzee at risk.
            The end to this emotional and amazing discovery put a damper on the whole story. It was already sad enough and these emotions just intensified as I heard about Lucy being poached. I was also angry that they would raise her and then leave her to her own defenses with no knowledge of the outside world. I was angry how they chose to treat her like a human and not follow up. Even though raising her for that long was difficult, I feel it was cruel to all of a sudden take away her life and make her change into a chimpanzee, which she could never return to.

Thinking Like a Mountain By Aldo Leopold

At the start of this unique story, Leopold shows the death of a deer from the perspective of a deer, coyote and human hunter. Later as the story progresses Leopold explains the unknown perspective of the mountain, that knows more than any species. The mountain, seeing everything from beginning to end, realizes all the balance needed to sustain ecosystems and all it's inhabitants. However, when the hunter killed a wolf he thinks only that it will diminish competition for deer. What the hunter does not realize, is that by doing this, he is disrupting the entire cycle of life. He doesn't know that by killing this wolf he is allowing the deer to thrive and destroy the mountain with over consumption due to a increased population. He doesn't know that by having a balance of wolves and deer, their habitat will flourish and keep both species healthy. The mountain can take in all that is around it, and realize what will happen when a cycle is tilted off balance, but the short sighted hunter only sees one aspect of this process, the aspect that supports his immediate dreams.

This article was very eye opening and took a different approach on ecological balance. Although I respect and try to see every perspective of the world, Leopold made a very interesting point about nature that is not always noticeable.

TED Talk: Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle: My Wish: Protect our oceans

What would the world be without the ocean? Would it even exist? Sylvia Earle, oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer believes “our fate and the ocean are one.” As a result of fishing and unstable oceanic conditions (due to plastics and other chemicals), in 50 years we have lost 90% of all the big fish. Along with many species of fish, a large population of whales, krill, and much more have been killed off. “We're clogging the oceans; poisoning the ocean's circulatory system,” claims Earle. At this rate, we may soon no longer have creatures in our oceans, leaving us with an unbalanced ecosystem and deprivation of a major food source. Because we are killing so many fish at a time, they do not have enough time to catch up to our daily needs. Because we are dumping chemicals and plastics into the ocean; we are killing the inhabitants that allow the ocean to exist.

In the Arctic, the ice is melting at a rapid pace and it may become ice free sometime in this century. This is neither good for the polar bears, nor us. Earle describes the detriments that are occurring with the melting of ice. She explains, “Excess carbon dioxide is not only driving global warming, it's also changing ocean chemistry making the sea more acidic. That's bad news for coral reefs and oxygen-producing plankton. That's also bad news for us.” Is there something we can do? The answer is yes. First and foremost, we must spread awareness. “With knowing comes caring, and with caring there's hope that we can find an enduring place for ourselves, within the natural systems that support us.”

I personally agree with what Earle is saying. It is shocking to see how we are destroying such a vital part of our ecosystem. I think what needs to be realized is that we must start this process of healing right now. Earle explains we have little time, and I hope that we can get at this as soon as possible. I have realized from this, that we cannot survive without this key part of our world, and all of us need to contribute to the mending of our oceans. This awareness and action is not only necessary for the survival of the ocean creatures, but for the survival of the human race. 

"Welcome to my Biology Blog! I am a sophomore at Animas High School located in Durango, CO. I am excited to share my thoughts, ideas, and observations on upcoming articles and videos from class. 

Check back soon, as I will be sharing my ideas and thoughts on Invasive Species."