I cannot believe it's been six years since I last spoke with Linda Howard. She was a true animal warrior who wanted desperately to help the WAO animals, but needed a friend to help her. As it turned out, she helped me. When I first wrote the Texas OAG I was so hopeful that this Office would do something to save the animals. The return letter I received from Charitable Trust made it clear they were not interested in pursing the case. I was disheartened and afraid that the WAO Board of Directors would get away with all the alleged animal abuse stuff and massive theft. When I told Linda about the rejection letter, she promised to help me write a new letter that would get the ball rolling. And she did. And it worked. Without her help, the WAO case would have never gotten off the ground and the WAO animals that survived the ordeal today would never have found great new homes.
Today, I found this posting and picture on Facebook of Linda:
"Remembering Linda Howard
Today is a sad day for me, the sixth anniversary of the tragic death of Linda Howard at the age of 39. Linda was one of the best advocates nonhuman primates ever had and worked closely with IPPL for many years. We really miss her.
Here’s a tribute I posted to Primfocus.
"We at IPPL are just devastated and stunned at the tragic passing of our friend and colleague Linda Howard on 27 July 2006. Linda was just 39 years old. The primates never had a better friend and the primate abusers never had a more formidable foe.
Despite her years of selfless struggle on behalf of our primate cousins, Linda had never seen a wild monkey. In fact she had never left the United States till recently. I felt she should have a chance to see the monkeys for whom she had worked so diligently for decades living in freedom as they were meant to live, and invited her to come with me to attend the International Primatological Society Congress held in Entebbe, Uganda, in late June 2006, and to travel with me afterwards to see monkeys.
Linda was so excited. She got her first passport and endured the battery of shots needs for travel in tropical Africa. We set off for Africa on 23 June. Many field primatologists attend these conferences to present their observations and Linda listened to their talks - and also we heard from some experimenters.
In Uganda they still serve a soda called "Bitter Lemon" not available in the United States. Linda became addicted to this refreshing soda! She was also happy at the availability of good vegetarian food on this carnivorous continent.
After the conference we went up to Murchison Falls National Park in northern Uganda. On the drive up we saw many baboons and every time Linda would insist the driver stop and we would watch the troop until the baboons disappeared from view. We saw the spectacular waterfalls and lots of elephants and hippos along the banks of the Nile. Then we went on to Jacana Lodge in the forested area of Queen Elizabeth Park. Our days there were surely one of the greatest thrill of Linda's life. The trees were full of exquisite colobus monkeys and the more elusive redtail guenons.
One night I was in the lodge reception area and Linda stayed in the room. There was a knock on the door. Linda knew it wasn't a staff member, because they always knock. She opened the door and there stood a mother and baby baboon. It was as if they somehow knew there was a friend behind that door. The baboons made no effort to enter the room, they just stood there a few moments, and left. Linda was totally overjoyed.
Goodbye, sweet Linda. May you rest in peace.”
I will never
forget how excited Linda was on her trip to Uganda. Here's a snippet of an email she was able to
send:
Hi Kris,
More soon -- I
only have 2 minutes of connection time remaining!
Have a great time
and Uganda is AMAZING! There are olive
baboons and vervets all around our lodge so I'm in heaven!!! Our room overlooks the Nile and we can hear
hippos!
Talk to you soon,
Linda
Here are a few pictures she took on her trip!
 |
| Vervet friends at Jacana Lodge parking area. This was our tour vehicle! |
 |
| Baboons on road through Maragambo Forest |
 |
| Warthogs and Banded Mongooses at Mweya Safari Lodge |
 |
| Warthog and Banded Mongooses at Mweya Safari Lodge |
 |
| Waterbuck in Mweya Penisula |
 |
| Chimpanzee Island at Entebbe Zoo |
 |
| Elephants in Mweya Pennisula |
 |
| Sunrise over Kazinga Channel |
I loved listening to her describe her trip. She was so happy. I pray she has finally found the peace she was looking for in life. I miss Linda very much.
No comments:
Post a Comment