Desmond Morris

[zorkan]

Earlier this week, aged 98.
Zoologist, author, football fan.
I remember the storm when his book The Naked Ape was first published.

Of the 192 species of monkeys and apes, only we have lost nearly all of our hair.
Controversial to some.  Revelation to others.
We like to boast we have the biggest brains,.
We incorrectly think that male gorillas have biggest members.

We don't live in concrete jungles we call towns and cities.
More realistically we live in human zoos, and we go back to our cages at night.
We still exhibit the tribal nature and taboos of our ancestors.

When he went to America, Morris was surprised to find that adverts for firearms (the taker of life)  were allowed.
Yet no mention of the male member (the giver of life) ever was.

His observations about the game of football (he was a keen watcher of Oxford United) are startling.
They play on a green pitch - the savanna.
The players are the hunters out for the kill in the form of a goal.
The wingers are like the flankers in the hunt.
Teams and fans wear the same tribal colours.
The fans are hunt spectators who go wild when a 'goal' is scored.
The background staff, the manager and directors are the elders of the tribe.

https://news.sky.com/story/zoologist-tv-presenter-and-author-desmond-morris-dies-aged-98-13534173