And those have taken a long time to gather, they've leaked out over my whole life very naturally, like when visiting a farmers market and her seeing a Brazil nut pod, or a small banana, or seeing her grandkid hit the other with a long branch, naturally occurring triggers like that would always pull a story out, and I've just always collected them. "So, for that part of the story I originally re-created a potential 'typical day' or two from memories of specific events she DID have. It became a mushy blend of basic jungle life and survival." Life had become more routine, and being a gradual acceptance into the monkey troop, no key event stood out to pinpoint time. So the first day when she was dumped and her feelings was very strong, but after that, the days became less 'eventful' for her to remember specifics, and her concept of time had really gone astray by then. The opening few jungle days were strongest in her memory in terms of order and events. Although there was some reasoning/logic behind the choice of order. All of it happened, but probably not in that order. "As for the first year in the forest and the events presented there, all the events did occur, nothing was made up there. We only feel confident that it's fairly accurate with how everything managed to slot in together neatly once we'd got the pieces in some order." So her floating memories have been stitched together by us with as much backing as we've been able to. She actually has no sense of chronology in her life, that's something we worked through together by taking a research trip back to Colombia in 2007, interviewing people, visiting places, gathering dates and relying on a bit of imagination to fill the transitions in between. VJ: "I wish I could answer this question more, because obviously it would make anyone skeptical to think she would remember that much detail in chronological order. "But here's the heart of my question: Is your mother saying to us, her readers, that she fully remembers all the key events from, say, her first year in the forest, that are presented? That she and her ghostwriter are not filling in details to make a more exciting and readable narrative?" Not long after her arrival, the girl had become ill, feeling acute stomach pain.īJK: "Regarding the parts set in the forest with the monkey family, I'd like to ask, if I may, if your mother intends these as fully remembered events? I understand from my reading that in some cases, of course, there's research involved and working backwards - to refer correctly to Brazil nuts let's say, or to a caiman, which specific knowledge a naturally wouldn't have." An anecdote central to the book, about the little girl's interaction with an older male monkey she called Grandpa, strains belief. Capuchins aren't known to construct beds or nests in the trees, as the narrative claims. So why do I have lingering doubts? Why am I skeptical that a traumatized and untutored 5-year-old girl could survive the forest, with its abundant predators and its strange, sometimes toxic foods, all on her own?Ĭhapman's descriptions of the monkeys' behavior doesn't track with what is reported about the lives of capuchins from thousands of hours of scientific study this fact does nothing to decrease my skepticism. How?Īt least, that's the story, one considered authentic enough for Pegasus Books (a traditional, not a vanity, publisher) and distributed by W.W. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Simply by visiting the Houston Zoo, guests also help to save howler monkeys in the wild.Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Girl with No Name Subtitle The Incredible Story of a Child Raised by Monkeys Author Marina Chapman, Vanessa James, et al These trees offer the necessary habitat howler monkeys need to survive in the wild. They also provide support for planting trees in Colombia. The Houston Zoo provides support and training for education campaigns that reduce hunting and trapping of howler monkeys in Colombia. The dimorphic monkeys -males are black, females are gold -rarely come down from the trees they live in and use their strong prehensile tail as a fifth limb, allowing them greater versatility when climbing. Their call can be heard more than three miles away. This “dawn chorus” announces the howlers’ position to avoiding conflict with other groups. Named for their vocalizations, howler monkeys are heard most often around sunrise. Both mom and baby are healthy, and after spending time together bonding, they can now be seen with the rest of the howler monkey family in South America’s Pantanal. A baby howler monkey, named Marlie, was born on Nov. There’s a new bundle of joy at the Houston Zoo just in time for the holidays. Zoo News Blog Howler Monkey Family Grows by One
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