Primate Videos

If you haven't had the wonderful opportunity of viewing a documentary about primates in the wild, it is high time to treat yourself to one. Television stations run these documentaries occasionally or they can be purchased for personal enjoyment. Here are some of the great titles available for purchase and a bit about their content:

Gorillas: Time Life Video Rising 14,000 feet above the central Afiican plain are a group of volcanic peaks seldom visited by man. Slopes forested by dense groves of lush vegetation, these highlands form the last remaining sanctuary where the endangered mountain gorilla can be observed. Less 600 of these magnificent creatures are left with most confined to a 25 mile mountain preserve between Rwanda and Zaire. In a rare and closeup look at the largest of all primates, this film enters the rnist-shrouded world of the mountain gorilla. And it follows the intense research and conservation efforts of those individuals, such as Dian Fossey, who are dedicated to the survival of these remarkable animals. (60 minutes - color - not rated)

Monkey Island: Time Life Video Off the coast of Puerto Rico, the island of Cayo Santiago, is an ideal spot for lavish beach resorts. But the residents of this place care little for the economics of tourism. Instead, they have formed a traditional society that respects traditional values. A premium is placed on social grace and family ties. Birthright is the key to success, but with luck, hard work and patience, the highest positions can be obtained. There are cliques and outcasts, feuds and secret love affairs - all the trappings of a typical community with one difference. The residents of Cayo Santiago are rhesus monkeys, and what they show us about primate behavior is astonishing. (60 minutes - color - not rated)

People of the Forest - Chimps of Gombe: Discovery Follow 20 years of love and rivalry within a tribe of chimpanzees who people the deep forests surrounding Lake Tanganyika. Experience a saga of family life like no other recorded in motion picture history. World famous wildlife photographer Hugo van Lawick transforms the research of his former wife Jane Goodall into a rich tapestry of emotion and drama among chimpanzees in the wild. Narrated by distinguished actor Donald Sutherland, this unforgettable film marks Discovery's first feature length theatrical release. (90 minutes)

Orangutans - Children of the Forest: ABC Productions Didi is a seven - year - old living with her family in a high - rise apartment building in Taipei. Like others her age, she likes it here, but there's a hitch: Didi is an orangutan. Illegally smuggled into Taiwan as an infant, Didi is like thousands of orangutans sold as luxury pets, only luckier. Snatched as babies from the forests of Indonesia, many of these wild beasts perish outside their natural surroundings. But with the help of Dr. Willie Srnits, an official of the Indonesian Forestry Department, perhaps this cruel practice will stop. Didi's touching personal story is an amazing journey from the comfort of "civilizatioif' back to her native home in the trees of Indonesia. This remarkable, emotional tale is a heart - tugging adventure of one animal's struggle to become wild again.

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