NP a lesson here somewhere

[Doug Millison]

Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2001 6:08 AM
Subject: Mirror experiment at zoo brings truce between warring chimps -


A feud between two chimpanzees at an Indian zoo has been ended after
zookeepers placed mirrors in their cage.

Lucknow Zoo's Sunny and Cheena stopped fighting last week after two mirrors
were hung in the cage they share.

It took the zoo officials some time to realise that chimpanzees, like
humans, are narcissistic and hate to be lonely.

"This has not only put an end to a 'gorilla' war, but we hope it would also
help them start mating," said B Prabhakar, director of the Prince of Wales
Zoological Gardens in the northern Indian city of Lucknow.

"Now they are either busy appreciating themselves, or trying to communicate
with their mirror images," Mr Prabhakar said Wednesday.

"They had nothing to do. So they would fight," Mr Prabhakar said.

Cheena's refusal to mate with her male cellmate aggravated the situation.

"Sunny tried every possible stunt and trick but failed and the frustration
only grew," Mr Prabhakar said.

Now Cheena and Sunny have not only stopped fighting, they have started
eating together, said their caretaker, Balaram, who uses only one name.

"We noticed that their food intake increased considerably and they remain
chirpy throughout the day," Balaram said.


See this story on the web at
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_359690.html


"I know I'd rather look in the mirror than have some hostile ape trying to
fuck me."
-Fay Wray