Hegemony at the Zoo

 

hegemony - noun - leadership or dominance, especially by one social group over others (Google).

Hegemony, a word that has gained prominence lately due to political plate tectonics, also has meaning in the animal kingdom. Yet it is not as obvious or as significant when the "lesser species" are held in captivity and must contend closely with human beings. 

Case in point: Yesterday, a close friend, Pat, who just happens to be the "number two man," the curator, invited my daughter and I to celebrate her birthday (December 16th) in grand style at the Bronx Zoo. She had only visited the urban aviary once before, I, about three times, but not for many years. Since he will be retiring in two weeks, we couldn't say no to his complimentary, personalized tour of the grounds, especially as he is a reality TV show star ("The Zoo" on Animal Planet) and one of the most prominent zoologists in the world. 

To be expected, from the moment we arrived until the moment we departed, Pat treated us like royals, providing us with a treasure trove of information while we tooled around the vast wooded acreage in a chauffeured, spiffed-up golf cart. At one juncture, he had to leave us on our own so that he could attend a meeting. It was then that we really had a few moments to observe the habitats closely for any evidence of animal hegemony. Oddly enough, most of the species seemed to rely on each other rather than impose dominance. There was a clear, peaceful sense of equality and communalism among them. An exception involved one gorilla that was alone for a few minutes. She tested the grounds of supremacy by throwing herself against the glass of her habitat just to watch a small group of us onlookers jump. The joke was on us, and it was enough to satisfy her taste for hegemony as she hobbled off playfully to find her mate while we were recovering from the shock.

Toward the end of the day, Pat returned and brought us into the sealed-off area containing the giraffes so that we could feed them their version of M&Ms: freshly cut carrots, apples and lettuce. (This opportunity was ours alone. Sometimes it is not what you know, but whom you know that will take you where no one else is allowed to go.) Somewhat shy, only one of a pack of four of the prehistoric looking giraffes showed much interest in eating from our hands. Quite content to exercise freedom of choice, but not hegemony, the others trooped off together to snack on the dry, brown leaves of a nearby tree.

Although hegemony does exist in the circles of the wild, contained creatures that rely on humans for sustenance must learn to get along if they want to survive. From the animals, I learned an invaluable lesson yesterday: despite differences, all denizens of planet Earth can get along if they all pay attention to each other and realize that harmony is a key ingredient when it comes to health and happiness. Lately, some of us are forgetting the importance of conforming to the group if only to maintain our health during Covid. Perhaps we should remember that united we stand, divided we fall and take the majority of our neighbors, not just ourselves, into consideration. 

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