The One and Only Ivan by Jacqui

1. Gorilla's in Captivity

jacquicooper91 — 2015-12-10 01:18:02 UTC

There are many campaigns in place to help get gorillas their freedom. Some people don’t feel that there is any justified reason to keep these animals out of their natural environment. There are suggestions that the mental health of gorillas suffer when they are in captivity. You can often see many of them sitting there doing nothing when in the wild they would be playing, running, or eating.

2. Gorillas can take on human-like behaviors

jacquicooper91 — 2015-12-10 01:19:30 UTC

All gorillas are very curios by nature. As humans are watching them, the gorillas are watching as well. This is why they often pick up behaviors from people. Some of them are fun and others are inappropriate. There is great debate about keeping gorillas in captivity, as they are so closely related to humans.

5. Circus Trainers use electric rods to "teach" baby elephants to behave a certain way.

jacquicooper91 — 2015-12-10 01:27:14 UTC

4. Dumbo and his Mother

jacquicooper91 — 2015-12-11 16:46:07 UTC

The movie Dumbo depicts some of the cruelty directed toward circus elephants over the last century. In this video (starting at :58), Dumbo visits his mother who is trapped in a circus car. She is labeled as the "Mad Elephant" after defending her baby.

6. Do these elephants have more compassion than the humans who care for them?

jacquicooper91 — 2015-12-11 17:00:02 UTC

The video below shows two adult elephants rushing to the aid of a fallen baby elephant at a zoo in Zurich. The touching video shows that elephants are highly intelligent, social creatures that demonstrate powerful family bonds and nurturing skills. Do you think these magnificent creatures deserve better than being dolled up and sent on the road to do stunts for shrieking children?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2014/oct/02/baby-elephant-helping-trunk-falling-over-video

Example: Kayla

jacquicooper91 — 2015-12-11 17:08:57 UTC

I noticed that the gorilla has a blank, sad stare. He almost looks like he is thinking about being someplace else.

Can gorillas daydream?

Example: Kayla

jacquicooper91 — 2015-12-11 17:13:18 UTC

I loved this part of the book! I noticed that Ivan was able to learn to draw like a human.

Since Gorillas can learn to draw, can they also learn to write?

3. Circus Elephants trained to sit like humans

jacquicooper91 — 2015-12-11 17:35:51 UTC

Take a moment to consider this picture from a circus in Dallas, Texas. Do you think this is a natural behavior for an elephant? Thankfully, animal rights organizations have put enough pressure on one of the biggest circus companies in the U.S (The Ringling Brothers) to stop them from using elephants in their performances. Let's hope other circus' start to follow this trend.