Tansy Aspinall was only 18 months old when in 1990 her father introduced her to a group of gorillas housed at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, with which the girl played for a long time. Now, after so many years, the video of that meeting, made in a hay-covered enclosure, has been put online, published on youtube, because Tansy Aspinall, who in the meantime has become a young woman of twenty-two, is the daughter by Damian Aspinall, president of the "Aspinall Fundation", which is responsible for freeing the gorillas held captive in zoos.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Tansy Aspinall she was only 18 months old when in 1990 her father introduced her to a group of gorillas housed in theHowletts Wild Animal Park nel Kent, with which the girl played for a long time. Now, after so many years, the video of that meeting, made in a hay-covered enclosure, has been put online, published on youtube, because Tansy Aspinall, who in the meantime has become a young woman of twenty-two, is the daughter from Damian Aspinall, president of the Aspinall Fundation, which deals with free gorillas held captive in zoos.
“I hope that people, seeing these images, will take an interest in the work we are doing with our Foundation and help the gorillas in the wild,” Aspinall explains. But much of the attention surrounding the video shot 20 years ago is not so much about the life and problems of gorillas, but the question of safety of a little girl who was put at risk by her father. In short, for many, Dad Damian should never have let the little one play with the dangerous and strong primates.
On Aspinall, in fact, the accusations of having been an irresponsible parent: "It was a miracle that the child survived" writes one user, while another compares this gesture to the Michael Jackson scandal who showed his son to reporters by leaning him through the window. Still, the video's introductory text would be clear enough: “Damian Aspinall shows his complete trust in man's closest cousins when he introduces his 18-month-old daughter Tansy to a group of endangered gorillas. The Aspinall Foundation needs help to finance the process of reintroducing gorillas to their natural habitat in the wild ”.
To agree with the father, supporting his cause, however, is there Tansy herself who, interviewed by Good Morning America, says she has never been afraid of gorillas: “I don't remember that video in particular, but I certainly remember that I was often with animals and loved having them around. It was like playing with another brother or sister, seriously ”. Tansy knew them well, she had grown up with them and they were her friends.
His father, for his part, explains to his detractors why the encounter was not as dangerous as it may seem: "when you grow up with the gorillas you are part of their family, you are one of them and it is not risky at all". Someone, of course, may disagree, but watching the video, the empathy that shines through that playful mixed group of primates really leaves you speechless.
