Testimonial – “The Reluctant Orangutan”

I went to the zoo to talk to the animals – specifically KJ, the 19-yr.-old male orangutan.
He was depressed, angry, and not moving.  He was slated to go to Waco, Texas, to be with Mei, and Rachel was here to take him on the long over-land journey.  Temporarily held for five months at Zoo Atlanta, he hadn’t shifted in over a month, and his room in the primate building was beginning to smell pretty bad.  So, I asked Charles, the Curator of Primates, if I could come over and talk with KJ – you know the good old mind-meld thing – and see if I could convince him to willingly get up and leave!
I arrived Saturday afternoon – everyone was pretty tense because tomorrow was THE LAST day.  By Monday morning he had to be in his crate and loaded onto the truck for the 12-hour drive to Texas.  Staff had been trying to get him to move into a shift cage, where he could then be hand darted and put into his crate.  They’d tried all kinds of treats – ice cream, candy, milkshakes, bananas, but it hadn’t worked – he’d just hunkered down to wait it out.  Orangs are notoriously stubborn, and have the patience of Job.
So, now he was curled up in the far corner of his room, with a burlap blanket over his head like a monk in prayer.  He didn’t even want to look when I came into view on the other side of the glass.  Rachel got his attention, and slowly he peeked out from his cloth cave to give me the once over.  He was cautious – not trusting anyone who walked by.  And there was a lot of hubbub today, and my presence just added to it.  Keepers were frustrated; the vets were ostracized; Charles was working on ways to calm KJ down; and Rachel was doing her best to stay out of the fray – as she was his new keeper from Waco, and needed to be on KJ’s good side.
I tuned into KJ.
“Hello,” I thought.  From his hiding place, he sent out vibes of being determined, alert, scared and bold at the same time.  I introduced myself, and told him why I was here.  I sensed his concern, and decided to show him in “pictures” what was up.  Yes, they did want to get him into the shift cage in order to dart him – but that it would be done gently and with a great reward.  He was going to a new home, and was going to be with a female orangutan!
I told him he would need to act now – at least by tomorrow – in order to get this new life.  And it had to be better than living in stasis.  I explained that this was why everyone was running around emotionally distressed – the time window was closing, and he’d better get moving!
I sensed I needed to get closer, so Charles took me around back where we could talk through the mesh.  Even though he was sitting farther from me, KJ could now smell me and hear my voice.  I offered some words of encouragement, and then again started sending “pictures.”
I visualized his journey – told him that after waking up in the crate, he would be loaded onto a truck.  It would be loud and smelly.  The journey would take all day (12 hours), and would be bumpy and uncomfortable.  But then at the end, he would be offloaded into a new home, where he would see a female, named Mei, and soon get to be her mate and make babies with her!  There would be a second male in the area, but KJ would be “king” of the orangutans – THE guy.  Rachel would be there to take care of his new group, and lots of people were really excited and happy for him to arrive and live there.  Happy ending…
And so, I left him.
I told Rachel and Charles what I had done – and encouraged them to continue sharing positive pictures with him. And I sent the staff a healing as well – they needed it as much as KJ!
I next went with Amanda to see Biji and JT – but that’s another story….
Rachel, who was staying at our home for the week, came back that night saying KJ had not gone near the shift, but they would wait and see what tomorrow would bring.  By Sunday evening, he had moved into the shift, but was too fast to lock in; he made a game of going in and grabbing food, and running back through the door before it closed!  They tried one more day – Monday – to see if they could get him in.  He wandered in and out of the shift, but when the keepers went to close the door, he literally beat the door by an inch…  So Charles said they’d back off and wait a couple of weeks, and send him later after he settled down to a normal routine.  On Tuesday, June 2nd, Rachel flew home to Texas.
So, imagine my delight when I got an email on June 7th from Rachel:
“Hello! KJ arrived in Waco this morning. He instantly adjusted to his new home. He shifts and lets us shut the door without any hesitation. He is taking food and drinks from all of us. He and Mei are very interested in each other. It took her most of the day to come out of her nest but when she did they started blowing raspberries at each other and displaying. I can’t wait to introduce them to each other. Moocha (the other male) is set to arrive on Tuesday and then we will have a full house.”
Wow!  So, KJ must have gotten the “message” and within just a few days allowed himself to be caged, crated, and transported!  Ah, will miracles never cease…
Thanks, KJ!
Gail Lash, Ph.D. and Animal Communicator