Jenny (orangutan) facts for kids
Portrait of Jenny. Printed by W. Clerk, London, 1837.
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| Other name(s) | Lady Jane |
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| Species | Orangutan (Bornean orangutan) |
| Sex | Female |
| Born | c. 1834 Borneo |
| Died | 28 May 1839 |
| Known for | Meeting Charles Darwin |
| Residence | London Zoo |
Lady Jane, often called Jenny, was a female orangutan. She lived at the London Zoo from November 1837 until she died in May 1839. Jenny was born around 1834.
She was the very first orangutan to live at the London Zoo. Jenny is famous for meeting the well-known scientist Charles Darwin. Darwin compared her actions to those of a human child. This meeting helped Darwin develop his ideas about how humans and animals are connected.
Contents
Jenny's Early Life at the Zoo
Jenny arrived at the London Zoo in November 1837. She came from Borneo, an island far away. A sailor named Mr. Moss sold her to the zoo for £150.
Jenny was about three years old when she got to the zoo. She was the first orangutan ever shown there. The zoo kept her in a warm giraffe house. Jenny even learned to wear human clothes and drink tea!
Charles Darwin Meets Jenny
On March 28, 1838, Charles Darwin visited the London Zoo. This was two years after his famous trip around the world on the ship Beagle. It was also more than 20 years before he shared his important theory of evolution.
This was the first time Darwin had ever seen a non-human ape. In 1837, he had started writing notes about how humans might have evolved. He wrote to his sister about Jenny in 1838.
Darwin described how Jenny acted when her keeper teased her with an apple. The keeper would not give it to her. Jenny then "threw herself on her back, kicked & cried, precisely like a naughty child."
She looked very upset after this. After a few fits of anger, the keeper told her, "Jenny if you will stop bawling & be a good girl, I will give you the apple." Darwin believed Jenny understood every word.
She worked hard to stop whining, and finally did. Then she got the apple! Jenny jumped into an armchair and ate it with a very happy face.
Jenny's actions reminded Darwin of how children behave. He noticed she showed feelings like "rage, sulkiness and despair." Darwin visited Jenny again in September and October that year. He was sure she understood what he said.
His notes also show that Jenny could follow instructions. She could open a door or get ready for grooming. She could even give things up when asked. Darwin also noticed Jenny could be jealous of others. She had a special bond with two zookeepers.
Darwin also watched Jenny look at herself in a mirror. He wrote that she was "astonished beyond measure." Jenny looked at her reflection from all sides. She put her hand behind the glass and rubbed the front. She made faces at it.
Jenny seemed surprised and almost scared by the mirror. She got upset because she could not understand the puzzle. She put her body in many different positions to examine it.
For Darwin, seeing Jenny's human-like feelings was very important. It made him believe even more that humans "created from animals." He wrote in his notebook:
Let man visit Ouranoutang in domestication, hear expressive whine, see its intelligence when spoken [to]; as if it understands every word said – see its affection. – to those it knew. – see its passion & rage, sulkiness, & very actions of despair; ... and then let him boast of his proud preeminence.
...Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work, worthy the interposition of a deity. More humble and I believe true to consider him created from animals.
Jenny's Death and Her Legacy
Jenny became ill and died on May 28, 1839. Charles Darwin's notes about Jenny are kept safe. You can find them at the Darwin Archive at Cambridge University Library. There is no proof that Jenny's bones or skin were saved.
After Jenny died, another female orangutan took her place. This new orangutan was also named Jenny, following a tradition. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert even visited the second Jenny.
A scene of Darwin meeting Jenny was shown in the film Creation (2009). In the movie, Paul Bettany played Charles Darwin.
Images for kids
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Jenny on the cover of The Penny Magazine, 1838.
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The Female Orang – Utan (A possibly later "Jenny" sitting in a chair by Henry Stacy Marks. n.d.)
See also
In Spanish: Jenny (orangutana) para niños
