Messrs. John Seago and | 
D. Anthony Parkinson : June 1, 1968 
part of the work would be done by Tony in the field prior to 
the actual catching operation and perhaps for the story purpose 
they would want to have some pictures of this phase of the 
operation. It was here they stated that perhaps they could 
get Simon Trevor to do this for them. I shall keep you informed 
as much as I can of the thinking of the National Geographic 
Society. 
Tony, you should not be disappointed about the Root 
bongo since there have been others captured previously, and it 
does give you an excellent opportunity to observe the bongo as 
a captive animal. Also, remember that it is going to be Park- 
inson who gets international coverage for catching bongo and 
that you will be contributing to man's knowledge of the animal 
which is more important than merely catching then. 
Regarding the time that I should arrive out there, I 
shall leave this up to you. Whatever is the best time, tell 
me and I will be there. I am taking immediate steps to get 
my passport in order and my shots so that if you telephone me —s 
to get there immediately, I will only be seventy-two hours away. \ 
If Tony should be in the woods observing the bongo, and one 7 
should walk into his lap, don‘t turn it loose. f. 
The luncheon at the National Geographic was interesting 
because we were all sitting around speculating on how the bongo 
was going to be captured, how it was going to be taken out, and 
all sort of wild questions were asked. I tried to answer like 
the Delphi oracle, taking time to construct my answers so that 
they could be interpreted in more than six different ways, and 
ending with the statement, “of course, field conditions will 
dictate what will happen." 
One thing that was stressed by Dr. Carmichael, head of 
the Research Committee, and myself was that we feel the story 
and picture you have should be slanted toward the human and 
gentle capturing of the animal as well as the gentling process. 
This will give the zoo world and the better bred of suppliers 
a good reputation. I know they will eventually want a picture 
of Thelma and Bill with the bongo being gentled down, etc. 
