On August 7, 2017, many well-known media at home and abroad invariably published a sad obituary: a red orangutan named Shatke died at the age of 39.
The reason why Shatke's death has attracted global media attention is not only that it is the only orangutan in the world who has attended college, but also because it is a legendary "ming ape" with a twisted fate.
So, what is the legendary and twisted story of this orangutan named Shattke? Why did it become the world's first orangutan to go to college?
Orangutans raised as humans
In 1977, an orangutan was born at the Yerkes Primate Research Center in Atlanta, USA.
This orangutan is the only two species of orangutans of mixed blood, which can be said to be extremely precious.
In the late 1970s, the American psychological and zoological circles believed in behaviorism, believing that the human brain was like a black box, and thinking was a single whiteboard, and all behaviors, including language, were born through continuous rewards and punishments from the outside world.
To put it simply, this orangutan was born purely to satisfy the American scientific community's research and curiosity about behaviorism.
Therefore, what accompanied Shatke from childhood was not the birds and flowers of nature, but the humans in white coats and the shackles of iron windows in the laboratory.
When Shatke was only 6 months old, anthropologist Lynn M. Schartke at the University of Tennessee in the United States. Miles then begged to be able to bring Charlotte back.
At the time, Lynn was planning to study a new topic about whether human behavior was inherited or acquired.
That's why she asked for Schotke's adoption, and told the staff at the research center, "When I take Shatke away, I'll raise it like an ordinary human child." ”
After some consideration, the research center decided that Lynn's topic was valuable for the study of primates, so it agreed to her request.
The moment Schaltek walked out of the lab, his life was completely changed by Lynn.
Shatke was taken to the human world by Lynn and began to live its own human life.
Because the orangutan is genetically similar to humans, they are very dependent on their mothers. As a result, Shatke is very dependent on his titular mother, Lynn.
And Lynn also raised Shatke as if he were his own son, not only wrapping it in a baby-specific diaper, but also putting it in a one-piece shirt.
When it was time to go to bed at night, Lynn would let Shattak lie on the crib, tell him stories, and coax him to sleep.
At dinner, Lynn would also carefully adjust the milk, test the temperature, and then feed it to Shattke herself.
In addition to this, Lynn brought in a personal doctor for Schartke to prevent him from getting sick.
The doctor Lynn had brought to Schartke was not an ordinary veterinarian, but a well-known pediatrician.
Soon after Shattke and Lynn lived together, they showed extraordinary intelligence.
It can keenly feel the emotional changes of the people around it, and it also knows how to express its feelings. For example, when Lynn praises it, Shattke will act elated and happily bounce around in his crib.
If he was criticized for doing something wrong, Shatke would make a look of dejecture and grievance like a human baby.
Seeing Shatke's performance, Lynn was very happy in her heart, and she would pick up Shatke in a circle and take out a bottle of milk to reward him.
Later, Lynn discovered that because the body structure of the orangutan was different from that of humans, she could not teach it human language at all.
To facilitate communication, Lynn decided to let Shattuck learn sign language when he was a little older.
At Shatke's 8 months old, Lynn began to let Shatke learn that the first sign language was "asking for food."
At first, Lynn would put the food she had given to Shatke to her mouth and signal to it that she would give it the food in her hand next.
After Lynn demonstrated a few times, Shatrotke would follow her example, putting his hands to his mouth and showing that he wanted to eat.
Lynn was thrilled to see Shatq's movements, but soon she reacted again, maybe it was just an accident, maybe in two days, Shattke would forget.
But on a later occasion, Lynn forgot to give Shatke the milk for work.
Shatke came to Lynn, patted her on the shoulder, and put his hand to his mouth, making an expression of wanting to eat.
At this point, Lynn reacted, remembering everything she had taught Shatke before.
After that, Lynn began to teach Shatke more things.
To Lynn's surprise, It took Shatke just two weeks to learn dozens of sign language expressions like "apple," "toy," and "food."
What's even more amazing is that for the vocabulary that Lynn didn't teach, Shatke would use his own methods to create one.
For example, Lynn didn't teach it the word "ketchup," and when Shatrotke wanted ketchup, he first used his hand to draw the meaning of "tomato", followed by a "toothpaste".
Shatq's comparison, Lynn quickly understood, after handing him the ketchup placed next to him, he would praise Shatke.
Hearing Lynn's compliments, Shatrotke clapped his hands in excitement.
Then Lynn took Shatke outside, taking him to see the bustling city and the bustling crowds.
When people saw Lynn holding an orangutan, they were shocked and thought she was a zoo employee.
But when Shatke showed the behavior of human babies, they called out incredulity and then came forward to greet Shattke.
Under Lynn's careful instruction, the young Shatke quickly remembered the way to the fast food restaurant. Sometimes, it also helps Lynn go shopping at a fast food restaurant.
Not only that, but Shatke also learned to clean his room and even act as a "navigator" while Lynn was driving.
On weekends, Lynn would take Shatke with her to the party, and the other children's pampering, Lynn would also let Shattuck have.
When Shatke was one year old, Lynn also carefully selected clothes, gifts and cakes, invited neighbors to come and threw a very special birthday party for him.
In the eyes of friends and neighbors, Shatrotke was like Lynn's biological son.
As Shatke grew older, Lynn challenged it again, which was to be deeply integrated into human society.
When Shatke was 4 years old, Lynn took it to the University of Tennessee, where she taught, and let it socialize like a human.
Lynn's students love the little guy and have a brief exchange with Schartke.
Over time, the school simply recognized the identity of Schartke University student.
As a student, the most important thing is the exam. Every time the end of the semester comes, the school prepares a special final exam for Schartke.
These include, expressing different things in sign language, identifying colors and using some tools to work.
Whenever Shatke took the exam, Lynn would watch anxiously, afraid that her grades would fail.
But Shatke never let Lynn down, and her test scores were excellent every time.
When it's graduation season, Shattke will also appear at the University of Tennessee's annual meeting with his classmates.
Orangutans suffering from depression
Lynn was delighted to see Shatke's performance in school, and then she began to teach Shatke the concept of money.
The clever Schartke soon learned how to buy things with money, and if he gave him a coin, he would come to the vending machine to buy a bottle of drink.
Usually, when Lynn drove it out, Shattke would also take the initiative to hand over the money in his hand. At home, Lynn would use small hoops instead of coins, as a reward for Shatke to help him with his chores or to help others.
If Shatrottuck had the toys he wanted or the food he wanted to eat, he could exchange the little ring with Lynn.
Under Lynn's careful tutelage, Shatke learned not only to clean up his room, but also how to pick up trash to make money.
Later, the small iron ring that Shattke owned could not be put down, and Lynn bought a very delicate piggy bank for it.
After Lynn's 8 years of care, Shatrotke grew from a skinny little orangutan to a muscular young orangutan.
Just when Lynn thought Shattuck would continue to live like this, reality dealt her a heavy blow.
In college, because Lynn still had classes, there was no way to stay with Shatke all the time.
As he grew older, Shatke's personality became more and more mischievous.
It used tools to dismantle the school's loose barbed wire, and sometimes even smashed the door lock. Then walk around campus as you please.
The other students at the school were terrified when they saw Schartke. After all, it was an adult orangutan, even bigger than some boxers.
When outside the school, Shattke would also attract criticism. Drivers on the road are startled when they see the gorilla in Lynn's car. Immediately after that, he would point at Shatke and shout and scold.
The driver's shouting and scolding attracted more and more people's attention. In order not to cause a traffic accident, Lynn had to drive the car away.
Originally, all this was caused by Shatke's huge size.
But on February 15, 1986, Lynn was working in her office when she suddenly received a phone call.
He told Lynn on the phone that Schattke had "attacked" a schoolgirl.
After receiving the call, Lynn immediately rushed to the "crime scene".
By the time Lynn arrived, Shatke had been brought under control, and the schoolgirl had called the police, leaving only coke spilled on the ground.
Schaltek has been very well-behaved and obedient for so many years, how can he "attack" others for no reason.
Lynn asked the school and the police to investigate the matter first, but the female student who was "attacked" and the school refused any explanation and "expelled" him.
On the other hand, the police also convicted Shattke as an extremely dangerous and aggressive animal, and the court immediately demanded that Shatke be returned to the research center.
Although Lynn ran around for Shatke and said all the good things, it was still to no avail. Shatke, who had lived in the human world for 8 years, was finally thrown into the cold and narrow iron cage of the laboratory.
Lynn was devastated after losing Shatke, and in order to see Shatke again, Lynn began to run around.
After many struggles, she was allowed to go to the laboratory to see Shatke.
When Shatke saw Lynn, he ran excitedly to his mother's side and said to her in sign language, "Mom, I want to go home." ”
Seeing this scene, Lynn felt an incomparable pain in her heart, and she gently comforted Shatke, assuring him that she would take it home.
Despite what he said, Lynn knew in fact that he would not be able to take Shatke home at all, and that he was no longer welcome in the human world.
Shatke spent 11 years in the iron cage of the laboratory.
In the narrow iron cage under the adult Shatq, there was no way to move at all, and gradually its whole body began to be fat.
In normal times, no one cared about it except that Lynn would come to visit it.
As the days passed, Shatke's personality became more and more withdrawn, curled up in the corner of the wall all day, motionless.
Even when Lynn came to see it, it would take a long time for it to react.
Sometimes, Shattke would jump in the cage, frantically banging his head against the cage, and even hitting things.
Watching this scene, Lynn was heartbroken, and she immediately ran to ask the doctor what was wrong with Shattke.
In response, the doctor explained to her: "Shatke suffered from depression. ”
The final outcome
When Lynn learned that Schaltek was suffering from depression, she often visited it.
But every time she went, Lynn saw shattke crazy.
Lynn fears that depression could endanger Shattke's life, so she tries to help her change her life.
Eventually, thanks to Lynn's efforts, a zoo called Atlanta was willing to accept Shattke and help him get out of the cage.
Originally, Lynn thought that Shatke would be happier after living with his kind.
But what she didn't expect was that The first thing Shattke said when he saw her was, "Mom, take me away, there are a lot of big orange dogs here." ”
It turned out that Shatke had always considered himself a human being, not an animal. Therefore, the first reaction when you see your own kind is to be afraid and flee.
What is even more sad is that When Shatroke communicates with his peers, he uses sign language rather than animals.
The other orangutans were so puzzled by Shatke's inexplicable movements that they didn't even bother to deal with it later.
Whenever a human passed by, Shatrotke would pick up some round patches from the ground and reach out from the iron cage, hoping to exchange for a drink or snack.
But for Shatke's behavior, many breeders did not understand what was going on, and thought it was a joke, so they ignored it.
This made Shatke feel very sad, he did not understand why things had become like this, why his mother had not come to pick him up and take him home.
Once, when Lynn went to visit Schaltek at the zoo, she crossed the word "pain" to Lynn.
Lynn thought he was sick, so she asked, "Where does it hurt?" ”
Immediately after, Shatke drew another word: "In my heart, my heart hurts." ”
After years of torture, the injured Shattke also gave up his desire to return home and began to slowly accept the fact that he was just an orangutan.
He also married a female orangutan.
The zoo staff said that Shatke had a good time here and did not have to worry about eating and wearing.
But from the photos taken by the staff for it, it can be seen that Shattke's eyes are always accompanied by a wave of sadness and sadness, like hanging tears, which is heart-wrenching.
Perhaps, in his heart, he has always been thinking about the warmth of the human world.
On August 7, 2017, the 39-year-old Shatke left this world with all kinds of thoughts and grievances in the fence of the zoo.
Shatke's life has no choice, and from the moment it was born in the laboratory, it was marked with an invisible label that accompanied it for the rest of its life, the "experimental product" of human scientific research.
The days of living in the human world are like a dream for Shatke, who spent the first half of his life in warmth and the second half of his life in a cage of depression and coldness.
Humans brought Shatke seven passions and six desires, and then deprived them all.