Behaviour.

Letter from Uruguay. Hi i’m Montago ! I’ve been told not to come near you humans as you have us performing in a circus or wired up to computers.

My uncle Tobias he’s a blue back Gorilla and he is the King 👑 of the Jungle.

Many years ago when he was small the white man came and the neighbours of of forest the Natives and stole him from his mother and shot her in the heart.

It was fatal ,Tobias lay on her for what he said felt like “an eternity.” She never stood back up and he was smuggled and passed out of his native land into white mans land. He tells us bedtime stories of how he would get special treats if he put shapes in the right box.

Big reward if he painted pictures and later , he would go out into a circus and carry a long pole while walking across a rope wire.

People would stand in their seats and clap their hands together just like the way we are beginning to touch now.

I hope you do not put me through what Tobias went through.

He later moved in with a family where the boss man would put wires on his head and he was again given treats if he moved a stick in the right direction to put shapes in boxes and the things he had to do on this screen became harder, but my uncle Tobias well he never once gave up he just carried on and on until he pleased his master.

Your hand feels differently to mine! Your skin is softer and thinner i can feel your blood rushing through your hands they are so hot!

Well Montago my name is Natalia and I work with the park here just make sure everything is being run in order and your feeling okay. Well that’s kind I’m fine, I’m actually going to be in trouble if my auntie Shaba knows I have been this near to the outside world and near white man.

But my Uncle Tobias is not afraid of you white man, he thinks the games he played and the food and people in a box on a screen were good fun. But the Circus was a very dangerous place, bad man and Natives hurt him and others when they had food and drink. They hurt them and were very cruel.

But my uncle Tobias said, we must always be forgiving, not forgetful and make mistakes, but forgive what has passed.

Well Uncle Tobias sounds very wise and deserves to be king of the Jungle.

Would you like to follow me into my Jungle where I can show you where we play and jump from each other to each other and my Momma Boshimba carries us from one large tree too another.

Well young what shall I call you? Montago my name means “many rivers will always flow” Wow, well Montago I will come back tomorrow and see if you are near about only I have to go myself as I have to feed the Falcon that has flown off its flightpath and in some distress. Just needs shelter, food and help back in the air again.

Ok i will see if I can come out this way tomorrow and I will see you then.

The next day Aishia waited and waited but Montago never showed a whole week passed bye, she brought her camcorder and camera and some colourful books to take back for Tobias, as the park knew he enjoyed looking through books.

You see Tobias was extremely clever, he could actually beat an opponent on a game that had never been cracked, he could solve mathematical equation’s that Professional bodies had been looking for for hundreds of years. However he had what one can only describe as a mental breakdown and smashed the Laboratory up and accidentally killed one of the scientists, so he was put out to pasture in the great planes of Africa.

He had actually just fathered Montago who at only 9 months was showing sign of human interaction and intelligence of something we had not seen, however Montago was not to be captured and put through any tests until the time gave permission to itself.

On the Friday Aishia started to pack her belongings and equipment away when she heard what could only be described as an energy of sheer power and energy she had never felt before; both exciting but frightening at the same time.

Tobias came from out of the trees with Montago on his back, he sniffed around me and my heart, well it was so loud my eyes were pulsating, you knew instantly this is near death you are hanging onto life or death here. Then he began to flea my hair pulling at it , I just bent my head to the floor. My bag fell open with the colour books. Tobias stood up on his hind legs beat his chest and made a noises the whole jungle started screaming.

I thought i was going to die. I collapsed on the floor.

The next thing I remember is waking up high in the African Forest with a Family of Montago’s and Tobias looking at the books.

I just sat in meditating position for an hour in awe of them.

Tobias left the group, so I put the shutter off and just took a few silent pictures. I asked Montago how did we get there and he said Tobias carried me.

Montago said quickly if you are going to go, do it now and you should get a little further away from Uncle even remembering you were here. But I didn’t want to leave, so I stayed a while longer with my camcorder running through the gap of my bag and before you knew it Tobias was back. He gave me fruit and Bananas and signalled to eat. It was such an honour to be sat filming this family eating in there own environment, eating their own dietary choices of nature.

I couldn’t wait to let the team know and look at any footage I managed to obtain as deep down in my soul, I knew Tobias would accept me as one of Montago’s friends and hopefully build enough trust to allow them the knowledge we mean them no harm, if anything just learn to live amongst each other.

Out of nowhere came a leopard; her eyes were of distrust and troublesome of nature in the way she approached us.

Tobias didn’t flinch, so I knew I was going to be under investigation again.

She walked like a Princess of a King 👑 to be and I knew instantly she was off great importance to the Tobias camp of Gorilla family.

She put her head in my bag and with her jaw she had managed to take the Camera, she swayed it from side to side. I just bowed my head to this magnificent princess.

She circles me until Tobias roar’s with a gentle beat on his chest it was soulful, they were not talking but saying everything from the distrust of me to the acceptance of me, my life again hanging in the balance.

Suddenly Mamosa jumped on my back and flung his arms around my neck ; then completely covers my eyes. I just remained still and tried to keep my breathing under control, which I might add was a little hard with the situation I had got myself into.

I began to worry about the time, the team would have noticed me missing by now and have organised a search party. I couldn’t help but worry about the National Trust who have shotguns to hand in situations they feel have got out of control, they use them without hesitation.

I didn’t want Mamosa to even see a pistol or a rifle, but what of my plight?. The worst senarios would start to play out where someone get killed here.

How could I possibly get away now!

It must have been an hour passed I tried to stay calm I told Mamosa if I didn’t return others would come with weapons, i needed to get out. He just said wait it out they will go about their business shortly Tobias has told Shakira that you are my friend and come in peace.

All i wanted to do was to keep the western world away from this family network that had managed to knit itself together, in the adversity of scorching blazing fires through their forest twice this year . Almost halving the trees and plants and animals by half. I wasn’t so sure I even wanted to divulge the information of this family and its network due to investigations going on. I wanted them just to be free to live a life in the forest and we manage to just like i said “learn to live amongst each other.” Instead of poaching and murdering of Mcalls nests trying to steal their young. We had to stop this.

I decided hiding it would only draw more concentration to the possibility of further investigation into this area, so I kept all the recording and if the camera had managed to keep some of the pictures. Without Shakira knowing she had been on camcorder for the whole episode of our first encounter. Mamosa was right Tobias went off as Shakira did; this time I salvaged what was left of the camera and made my way down the African forest to safety. Where my team could quickly find me.

I returned back to base and excitedly explained all my experience to my professors and they were absolutely amazed I was still alive, without all the film and photography.

They put it up for first class studying of the Animal behaviours and I was patted on the back and big roast lunch was made in my honour, but like I pointed out; it was down to my friend Mamosa and I raised a glass to future meetings.

©️DEarnshaw.