Like a lot of people around the world, I grew up with a love and appreciation for animals and nature that I never "outgrew", not that I think it's immature to feel that way in the first place. Naturally, any type of show or book that featured an animal "best friend" was at the top of my list, which also hasn't changed in adulthood. The "Nature" series on PBS recently aired a special about the wild animals of the Congo; specifically, the chimpanzees and gorillas of the jungle as told by their native son, and I urge you to see it (see link below). The landscape is as stunning as the appreciation for its beauty is heartfelt.
Besides the hokey "Mr. Ed" and poor ole Lassie always finding Timmy in a well during the surreal black-and-white 50s era of television, we waited for something to fill in for "talking" Hollywood animals with mouths full of peanut butter, and "Tarzan" was that for us. He was the king of the jungle, and he always had a little monkey best friend. In the animated series from the 70s, he had a monkey that curled his tail around his neck, while other movies showed Cheetah the chimpanzee as his "go-to" animal for news of the jungle.
We loved his battle cry of "ahhh ahhahhhh ahhh!" that signalled to the other animals trouble was afoot in their jungle. Then, he swung through the trees at lightning speed to chase away the bad guys, and they were almost always bunch of pansy-ass white dudes in stupid "explorer" gear looking to exploit the unspoiled wilderness for profit, or their museum collection(s), or their trophy wall(s). Uh uh. Not in our jungle!
It seemed kind of plausible, too. We loved stories about remote Abominable Snowmen living in some far-off frozen land that remained undiscovered, or wild "wolf boys" abandoned by their parents at the edge of a clearing to be raised by a pack of wolves in the forest. It could totally happen! Wolves are really caring, social animals! We talked about it over comic books, sitting at the kitchen table, dreaming of the day when someone would come to save the animals of the forest and their native habitats, including the wild jungles of the world. The good news? I think we're getting very close.
See you in the woods, children of the wild.
