midnightinchicago
About seven or eight years ago or so, I had an unbelievable chance to see what zoo animals see. I went on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Kovler Lion House at Lincoln Park Zoo.
At that time, the Kovler Lion House had lions and tigers on one side of the house, cougars, a black leopard, servals, snow leopards and an amur leopard on the other. Some of those cats are no longer with us, having lived well past their regular life span and passed on. Others are still there today.
Behind the cages is a narrow hallway which the keepers use to gain access to the cages. From that hallway, you can look through the rear cage gates all the way through the cages and out to where the zoo patrons look at the animals. It really is something to see leopards pacing between you and the zoo patrons.
A considerable amount of care goes into the medical, psychological, and emotional health of these animals. We were taught all about the care and feeding of the cats, and were told interesting anecdotes about them.
There is a “bridge” in the hallway behind the cages that goes from the indoor habitats to the outdoor habitats. A black leopard named Marta was sitting in this bridge watching us approach as we looked at the cats in the other cages.
When we got to her cage, the keeper called her, and she came down out of her bridge to the door so the keeper could give her pieces of meat. While the keeper waived a tupperware container full of raw meat around and spoke about the habits of leopards, Marta followed the movement and licked her lips. Eventually, the keeper poked a treat through the wire mesh of the door and Marta gulped down the tasty morsel happily.
Marta, I’ve been told, is no longer with us but my memory of her lives on. It especially came alive again when I was talking with Elyse the other night on the phone. I thought to myself that Marta makes a good metaphor for where autistics sometimes find themselves in this world.
People who know nothing about autism see autistics through an odd mesh held up by the media, and sometimes people see autistics through a blinder of their own prejudices. Those who care for autistics see autistic another way. They see autistics as wonderful people, fully deserving of all the love and care any human has to give.
Yet like Marta the black leopard, autistics mostly walk alone, and sometimes the world they walk in is not of their chosing.
Lincoln Park Zoo cares for its animals. Wild cats are in their element, however, when they are in their natural habitats. It’s a wonderful thing for cats to roam free where they can be themselves and true to their nature.
Likewise, it is important for society not to confine autistics by our prejudices or our misunderstandings.
We need to build a bridge so we can better understand those with autism. Building bridges means making connections, in body, mind and soul.
Just a point to ponder and a window into where my mind wanders.
Thomas D. Taylor
Co-Creator
MIDNIGHT IN CHICAGO
July 14, 2009 at 3:10 am
We adopted three boys with various forms of autism and appreciate those who would blog on such an important subject. People more than ever need to be informed about autism and what life is like for those so affected since this debilitating condition seems to be on the rise.
July 15, 2009 at 5:49 am
Thanks for your comment KJ. Both Elyse and I care very deeply for autistics and truly believe every word of what we write in our blogs, on our websites, and in our podcasts.
July 17, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Please get your facts straight – Marta, the leopard is not dead – at least not as of 7/17/09 – and I hope you weren’t “making her dead” just for your story.
July 18, 2009 at 3:53 am
Many thanks to those who sent messages saying that Marta is still very much alive.
Over the months, my schedule has been booked solid with MIC and Art business that has kept me hopping between Canada and the US. On one of my trips back to Chicago, I was told by a colleague that Marta had passed away.
This individual mistakenly thought Marta was the leopard in question after having read on the Chicago Public Radio website that a 19-year-old Leopard had been euthanized at Lincoln Park Zoo.
LINK: http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=26340
I sincerely apologize for not checking this fact prior to posting my latest blog entry, and I am happy to read that Marta is alive and well and living at Lincoln Park Zoo. I believe I will make time this month to pop in to see my old friend.
July 18, 2009 at 4:41 am
As the Founder and Creator of the MIC initiative, I would like to add that a physical given to Marta in 2007 revealed a rapidly growing mass of tissue in her nostrils. The Chicago Tribune reported that the LPZ veterinarian determined Marta was too old and weak at the time to be able to survive surgery or radiation to deal with the growth. If there came a time when the veterinarian could no longer treat the growth, the zoo felt it would then be best to euthanize her.
I am posting this to help others understand how one of Thomas’ colleagues could have mistaken the euthanization of the snow leopard in 2008 with the comments made to the Chicago Tribune by LPZ officials in 2007 regarding Marta and her health.
And as a matter of record, I am pleased to see that Marta is still with us.