The Composite Human

Therapy doesn’t exist in the wild, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be helpful. In the PBS Nature documentary, Mystery Monkeys of Shangri-La, one of the fathers in a troupe of snub-nosed monkeys is killed by a wandering bachelor monkey who steals his mate; the father’s son is ousted by the family, and the mother creates a new child for the bachelor monkey. Think of the emotional trauma the original son must’ve gone through, losing his father and being replaced so quickly.

Think also of the desperate lioness whose newborn cub was murdered by a jealous male. Videos exist on YouTube of lionesses “adopting” an antelope calf in order to fulfill its maternal instinct, only for the mother to starve and for the calf to be hunted by other lions.

When a bird breaks its wing. When an animal loses an eye. When a female creature is forcibly mated with. How could they not carry trauma with them? But animals cannot speak. Cannot practice EMDR therapy or write in a journal. With luck, the most they’ll get is a hug from a loved one.