Something about the problems Edinburgh Zoo are having in getting their Pandas to 'get together' reminded me of a rather worrying occasion which occured to me.
It was a cold, wet & dreary landscape somewhere in southern Scotland, our destination, a disused coal mine. Although on arrival it was anything but; high walls, barbed wire eveywhere, solid gates, warning signs etc.. We were escorted in, along damp dark corridors, then more gates, more corridors, ultimately into a vast area with two large metal cages. The first contained a very large baboon, the other, two more baboons. The procedure was explained to me. These animals were being used for test purposes & I was to film the outcome of the effect of a particular drug and it's effect at various strengths. I had, in my innocence, expected to poke the camera lens through the mesh of the cage. Oh no ! I was to join the very large baboon in his cage, whilst....wait for it !! he watched his own female being mated by a strange male in the cage alongside. I was there for I don't know how long, shrieking & screaming ( the ape - not me ) as he circled overhead, being sprayed by his urine was the least of my worries. The worst was to come, the man in charge was called away, urgently. This resulted in him passing his rifle ( for emergency use ) over to the producer of the film & who, I quickly established, didn't know one end from the other !!
However, it ultimately came to an end, it had to, I had run out of film.
The man in charge returned. I told him I thought that on several occasions ( the ape ) was about to attack & tear me apart. Those surely must have been the baboons feelings about me, an alien creature, whilst in the adjoining cage his own mate was being ' got at ' by a strange male baboon.
" No " said he, " he would have been in a heightened state of rage, frustration & sexual arousement & much more likely to have had a powerful urge to mate with you."
It was a cold, wet & dreary landscape somewhere in southern Scotland, our destination, a disused coal mine. Although on arrival it was anything but; high walls, barbed wire eveywhere, solid gates, warning signs etc.. We were escorted in, along damp dark corridors, then more gates, more corridors, ultimately into a vast area with two large metal cages. The first contained a very large baboon, the other, two more baboons. The procedure was explained to me. These animals were being used for test purposes & I was to film the outcome of the effect of a particular drug and it's effect at various strengths. I had, in my innocence, expected to poke the camera lens through the mesh of the cage. Oh no ! I was to join the very large baboon in his cage, whilst....wait for it !! he watched his own female being mated by a strange male in the cage alongside. I was there for I don't know how long, shrieking & screaming ( the ape - not me ) as he circled overhead, being sprayed by his urine was the least of my worries. The worst was to come, the man in charge was called away, urgently. This resulted in him passing his rifle ( for emergency use ) over to the producer of the film & who, I quickly established, didn't know one end from the other !!
However, it ultimately came to an end, it had to, I had run out of film.
The man in charge returned. I told him I thought that on several occasions ( the ape ) was about to attack & tear me apart. Those surely must have been the baboons feelings about me, an alien creature, whilst in the adjoining cage his own mate was being ' got at ' by a strange male baboon.
" No " said he, " he would have been in a heightened state of rage, frustration & sexual arousement & much more likely to have had a powerful urge to mate with you."
and a 
An infinite babble of baboons?
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