Good Morning, Gorillas - Mary Pope Osborne [9]
“Thanks,” said Jack. He tied his jacket around his waist. They kept walking.
“And don’t forget these,” said Annie. She pointed to the flashlight and umbrella. They lay on the grass under the wide, mossy limbs of a fat tree.
Annie picked them up and carried them herself.
It started to drizzle again just as she and Jack got to the rope ladder. They climbed up into the tree house.
When they got inside, they looked out the window. Jack hoped to catch one last glimpse of the gorilla family.
But there was nothing to see. A white mist covered the cloud forest.
Annie picked up the Pennsylvania book. She pointed to a picture of Frog Creek woods.
“I wish we could go home,” she said.
Suddenly, a joyous screech rang out. The happy, wild sound shot through the white mist, through the cool rain, straight into Jack’s heart.
He opened his mouth to answer the call of the gorillas. But it was too late. The wind began to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
Tap-tap-tap.
Jack opened his eyes.
The Frog Creek woods were still dark and rainy.
“We’re home,” Annie said.
Jack sighed.
“I miss them already,” he said.
“Me too,” said Annie. “Did you take a lot of notes on their habits and behavior?”
Jack shrugged.
“I listed a few things about them,” he said. “But sometimes lists don’t tell you much. You have to love gorillas to really know them.”
“Yeah. That’s right,” said Annie.
Jack opened his backpack. He pulled out their research book and put it in the corner.
Then he pulled out the twig that Ho-ho had given him. He smiled as he showed it to Annie.
“I promised Ho-ho I’d eat this later,” he said. “But I think we should save it for Morgan instead.”
“Good idea,” said Annie. “It’ll prove to her that we found a special magic.”
“Yeah, gorilla magic,” said Jack.
“The magic of all animals,” said Annie.
“Yeah,” said Jack.
He placed the twig next to the scrolls they’d brought back from old England.
“Let’s go,” said Annie. She started down.
Jack pulled on his backpack. He put the flashlight in his pack. Then he grabbed the umbrella and followed Annie.
They started through the Frog Creek woods. It was still cool and dark and rainy.
Jack didn’t mind, though. He didn’t put on his jacket. He didn’t take out the flashlight. He didn’t put up the umbrella.
Jack felt as if he weren’t completely human yet. There was still a bit of gorilla left in him.
“Ho, ho, ho,” he said in a low voice.
“Bu, bu,” Annie said back.
“Huh, huh, huh,” they said together.
MORE FACTS FOR
JACK AND ANNIE AND YOU!
Gorillas are the biggest members of the group of animals we call primates. Other primates include chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, baboons, monkeys, and humans.
All gorillas live in Africa. There are three groups of gorillas—western lowland gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas, and mountain gorillas. Mountain gorillas are the largest gorillas. They have longer hair and longer jaws and teeth than lowland gorillas.
Mountain gorillas live in the volcanic mountains of Virunga in east-central Africa. The word virunga means “a lonely mountain that reaches to the clouds.”
Gorillas are mainly herbivores, or plant-eaters. They keep on the move, so they will not deplete a feeding area. A silverback gorilla can eat up to 50 pounds of forest vegetation in only one day.
ENDANGERED SPECIES
All gorillas are on the endangered species list. But the ones most threatened are the mountain gorillas. Fewer than 650 still live in the wild. None live in captivity. A woman named Dian Fossey lived for almost 20 years with the mountain gorillas. During her life, she fought very hard for their protection.
GORILLAS AND AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
Since 1971, a lowland gorilla named Koko has been part of a gorilla language project in California. Gorillas will never be able to talk like people because their vocal cords cannot make the necessary range of sounds. But a woman named Penny Patterson taught Koko