M. Bonobo was not a bonobo. He was a gibbon. He was often described as a fighting monkey but he was, in fact, a lesser ape. Bonobos belong to the class of apes classified as great, along with chimpanzees, gorillas, orangoutangs, your humble narrator, and you, gentle reader.
M Bonobo was one great monkey, even though he was a gibbon.
A gibbon is monkey-sized, but, a gibbon is not a monkey. A gibbon is a long-armed ape. A gibbon, like you, lacks a tail.
In the 1820s and 1830s, really up until the 1960s, nobody except scientists cared about the difference between a monkey and an ape. Then that movie came out. It was called Planet of the Apes. There were no monkeys in that movie, as any ape will tell you. Those are fighting words.
The three species of apes featured in the Planet of the Apes movies were chimpanzees, orangutans, and gorillas. There is no room for gibbons on the Planet of the Apes. Gibbons are no larger than a small dog.
Mrs. King’s dog weighs as much as a male gibbon. Mrs. King’s dog weights fourteen pounds.
Gibbons walk upright. They have very long arms. Gibbons have very long arms. They swing from trees. Their hands have a grip that is impossible to break.
Gibbons have overdeveloped arms, overdeveloped hands, and overdeveloped wrists. They are evolutionary miracles. We are all God’s children.
Have you ever even seen a gibbon?
Nowadays, in New Orleans, you have to go to the Audubon Zoo. All the gibbons asked for you. It was not even Mardi Gras.
In the old days, you could go to the corner of Ferdinand Street and N. St. Peters Street. Those were the days. M. Bonobo, the gibbon, would wrestle dogs to the death.
More to follow.
You should become a paid subscriber. What follows behind the paywall is a totally different, and infinitely more interesting story. What follows behind the paywall is present-day New Orleans. The past is prologue to the present the way the present is prologue to the future.
I doubt I will encounter a monkey bout today. This is 2024, not 1824. Those were the days…