GARY L. SHAPIRO
Description
A recently divorced graduate student is offered an opportunity of a lifetime. Asked to teach an orangutan sign language to solve a murder, he finds hi
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mself in an exotic land to discover a world of ex-captive red-haired great apes of Borneo who are learning to return to the wild.Out of the Cage recounts Shapiro's studies and adventures from field notes and memory to demonstrate the many otherwise human interactions he has had with the unique orangutan personalities of Borneo and Sumatra, the highs and lows of their close and collegial relationships. Orangutan personhood, great ape rights, and the many moral conundrums that the scientific community has largely ignored weigh heavy on Shapiro's mind and heart as he reflects upon his experiences with those noble persons.Indeed, the incredible journey of Sandra, an orangutan who was the first legally declared non-human person in a court of law, is chronicled, and the very real and simple actions that anyone can take to help save our compassionate cousins, the critically endangered orangutans, are revealed.
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Gary L. Shapiro