Sapolsky’s Baboons: A Primate’s Memoir Reflection Essay Example
Ever since author and primatologist Robert Sapolsky was little, he has always been interested in animals, especially primates. Although he originally wanted to study gorilla’s, he quickly discovered that for the research and questions he was asking, studying baboons would be better. One of Sapolsky’s books called A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons, focuses on his two decades in the field studying Kenyan baboons. Throughout his novel, he describes the different members of the baboon troop he is studying, in addition to their behavior and his personal interactions with the nearby tribes.
The novel A Primate's Memoir is divided into four separate parts. Each of the parts focuses on a different time in Sapolsky’s studies and research. The first part is called The Adolescent Years
.... This is a fitting title because this chapter illustrates how Sapolsky first came to Kenya for his career and how he came in contact with his baboon troops. Additionally, it focuses on his early experiences as a new researcher and as a resident of Kenya. The reader also learns that his reason for research was to study stress-related disease in relation to behavior. The second part continues to focus on Sapolsky and his work as a student; however, he now is a graduate student working on his thesis. Through his time in Kenya, Sapolsky has now made friends in the tribe that is nearby and learned about customs such as them having cow blood at weddings. The tribe is called Masai. This part of the memoir also tells of how Sapolsky learned and became skilled at avoiding the scams and other dangers in Kenya. It recounts Sapolsky’s
gunpoint encounters, and a kidnapping At this time his male baboons were trying to flip the social hierarchy by attempting to overturn the alpha males, while the females were beginning to get pregnant and raise children.
Part three continues to follow Sapolsky as he continues his research in Kenya, but now he is no longer a student. During this time the baboon's social structure is shaken after their alpha, Saul, was overthrown by a group of six baboons. Once the six baboons defeated Saul, they began to fight over who should be the next alpha. This was all unsettling to the baboon's community and chaos began to become a normal as each day a new baboon would be in charge. Sapolsky’s time in the forest of Kenya seems to be limited during this time because he was facing the potential of becoming a professor. Finally, in part 4, Sapolsky earned a job as an assistant professorship. It also tells about the reign of Nick, a baboon who was meaner than that of any of the other previous alphas. At this time he also met and married his wife. Despite the happiness of meeting his wife, the book ends on a seemingly sad note because Sapolsky's time with his baboons has ended. The baboons were hurt as a result of negligence from local herders and buyers. One baboon troop even contracted tuberculosis which proved deadly because practically all of them died. Even more sadly, is the fact that a few years later, nearly all of Sapolsky's baboons died and therefore, as a result, ended Sapolsky's research on the group of monkeys he had begun to love and
connect with.
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