Jack (baboon)
Jack (* unknown; † 1890) was a bear baboon who became known as the animal assistant of a handicapped track keeper in South Africa .
history
Jack acted as assistant to the physically handicapped track attendant James Wide, who served in the second half of the 19th century in Uitenhage on the Cape Town - Port Elizabeth line of Cape Government Railways . Wide was amputated on both sides of his legs, making him significantly unable to walk.
The baboon not only pushed the wheelchair user Wide to work, but also operated the signal levers under the supervision of the track attendant for nine years. After initial skepticism, Jack was hired by the railway company and paid 20 cents a day and half a bottle of beer a week. In his nine years of working, he should never have made a mistake.
After nine years of duty, Jack died of tuberculosis in 1890 . Jack's skull can be seen in the Albany Museum in Makhanda . Photographs of Jack are on display in the former Uitenhage train station.
literature
- Simon Conway Morris : Beyond Chance. We humans in the lonely universe . 1st edition. Berlin University Press, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-940432-07-0 , Jack, der Eisenbahner-Babian, p. 178 ff . (Original title: Life's Solution: Inevitable humans in a Lonely Universe .).
- Karen Duve and Thies Völker: Lexicon of famous animals . Eichborn Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1997, ISBN 3-8218-0505-6 .
- David Wallechinsky, Amy, Irving Wallace : Rowohlt's Colorful List. The irreplaceable reference work for individualists . Ed .: David Wallechinsky. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1983, ISBN 3-499-15181-2 (rororo; 5181).
Web links
- Pieter du Plessis: Jack the Signalman . (English, online article at earthfoot.org [accessed June 15, 2009]).
- Baboon with personnel number , Deutschlandradio Wissen from August 14, 2015.
Individual evidence
- ^ Dorothy L. Cheney, Robert M. Seyfarth: Baboon metaphysics. The evolution of a social mind . University of Chicago Press, Chicago (USA) 2007.
- ↑ Jochen Zwikirsch: Animals that made a name for themselves . In: Hamburger Abendblatt . March 23, 1983, p. 40 ( online [accessed June 15, 2009]). Animals that made a name for themselves ( memento of August 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b The Telegraph - Google News archive search. Retrieved May 27, 2020 .
- ^ Pieter du Plessis: Jack the Signalman . (English, online article [accessed June 15, 2009]).
