Talk:Pattycake (gorilla)

To-do

 * Family background
 * Circumstances of birth
 * "Custody battle" incident (mostly constructed by the media to add "color" to the broken arm event)
 * Broken arm accident (March 1973)
 * Separation from parents
 * Hospital stay
 * Reintroduction
 * Subsequent battle between two zoos
 * Relevant milieu: Watergate scandal, 1973 oil crisis
 * News sources consistently describe Patty Cake's birth and subsequent "custody battle" as a welcome respite from the political and energy crisis
 * Popularity, zoo attendance, interest
 * Frist successful captive birth in New York (in the US?)
 * Animal welfare and animal rights activism
 * Central Park Zoo conditions
 * Compared to jail cell (Ferreti 1977)
 * Poorly funded?
 * Renovations, then...
 * Move to Bronx Zoo
 * 1982 or 1983?
 * Subsequent breeding of lowland gorillas
 * Relations and offspring
 * Animal rights protests
 * 10 babies
 * 8 survived, 2 died after birth
 * Bred to supply zoos with gene pool
 * Association of Zoos and Aquariums Gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP)
 * Congo Gorilla Forest (June, 1999)
 * Pattycake Fund (2002)
 * Paradigm shift in zoo management from bars and cages to natural environments and habitats, from entertainment to education
 * Research and researchers
 * Primitive state of primate research circa 1972?
 * Books and media
 * Appears in Mothers to Tigers
 * Pete Seeger song, "Patty Cake Gorilla"

Issues and errata

 * Data (such as DOB) from the Frankfurt Zoo International Studbook appears to significantly diverge from standard entries. Is this due to error on their part?

Photo
This may seem silly, but individual gorillas often have quite distinct facial and body features, we could search for images on Flickr or Commons from Bronx Zoo and compare with images on Google. This one from 2004 could be a match. Compare with this official photo of Pattycake, note brow, nostril shape, and head shape, and bare patch on wrist. FunkMonk (talk) 02:22, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Agreed. I originally brought this up last year on the talk page of the uploader. FunkMonk, is this her? I can't tell. Viriditas (talk) 09:11, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Ah, thanks to the Gettyimage you posted there, I'd say the Flickr image is definitely her, notice the scar (or deformity) above the right (her left) nostril here Can't be a coincidence, though it is less clear, due to blur and light. Also note the right brow seems to arch a bit higher than the left on both. As for the Commons picture you linked, hard to say form that perspective since there aren't any from the exact angle on Google to compare with. But if we assume the one posted before is her, then another image form the series shows a profile The brow seems more prominent than the one on Commons. FunkMonk (talk) 09:27, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the scar isn't as clear, but if the bare patch identifies her, then yes, it's her. Is the bare patch due to old scar tissue? Could it be related to her childhood accident? Viriditas (talk) 09:34, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Perhaps, maybe there's a source stating exactly where the break occurred, and on which arm? Bald spot seems to be past the wrist, though. FunkMonk (talk) 09:36, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * This source says right arm, so wouldn't have anything to do with the spot on the left one. FunkMonk (talk) 09:42, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

FunkMonk, the new photo looks great. Nice work. Viriditas (talk) 21:15, 28 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I was a little concerned identifying it ourselves would be original research, but what the heck... FunkMonk (talk) 21:33, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

Alternative POV
There's an alternative POV on Pattycake offered by author Mickey Z in a short opinion piece called "Gorilla Warfare: The Animal-Prison/Industrial Complex", hosted by World News Trust. I haven't added it because I'm not clear if it is reliable or not to use here. WNT is a self-published site, I believe. Viriditas (talk) 22:06, 6 May 2014 (UTC)