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"Adventure is worthwhile in itself."--Amelia Earhart "I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others."--Amelia Earhart |
By D.A. Watson
The adoration of the American public did not help Ruth overcome the chauvinism of the all-male institutions in the field of science and exploration, however. Many institutions snubbed her before the Explorers Club did her the “honor” of being the first women allowed to attend a dinner with the “gentlemen.” It should be noted, however, that the Club listed Su-Lin, not Harkness, as their guest of honor for the evening.
There were other problems to be overcome, as well. Ruth had difficulty finding Su-Lin a home, and had to keep him in her Manhattan apartment for some time. The Bronx Zoo, which was supposed to take the panda, declined, saying they did not have adequate housing for her. Additionally, they also accused her of being a “gold digger” by asking for $20,000 in exchange for the panda, which money she planned to use for another expedition to China.
Finally, Su-Lin was sold to Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo for $8,750, far less than the amount Ruth had hoped to obtain, but still enough to finance another expedition to China. As “Panda Fever” swept the country, Harkness found another panda – Mei-Mei, supposedly a female. This panda was taken from Chengdu, China, in December 1937 by local hunters and sold to Harkness.
Ruth made a third China trip, where she once again teamed up with Quentin Young. Young had collected two more pandas, one an adult, the other a young female. Neither panda was brought back to the U.S. The adult was shot sometime after capture, supposedly having become uncontrollable, and the young female, Su-Sen, was released as having too wild a temperament to survive in captivity.
Sadly, Su-Lin died in April 1938 after choking on a stick. After its death, zoologists determined that this panda had been a male. Today, Su-Lin can be seen as a mounted exhibit in Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. After Mei-Mei’s death in 1942, it was determined that this animal had also, in fact, been a male.
When Ruth returned home from China, she came as a single woman with no private income. Fortunately, the book she had written about her first expedition, ‘The Lady and the Panda,’ was well received. She ultimately decided, after Su Lin’s death in the early 1940’s, to travel to South America to study the Incas. She did no work on this project, however, and spent her time with what she called “an elaborate nothing,” consisting of cocktails and dinner parties. She subsequently met Sandoval, a Basque/Indian naturalist who served as her guide to his village high in the mountains. Her book ‘Pangoan Diary’, published in 1942, describes her life in that village.
After publishing ‘Pangoan Diary,’ nothing more of substance was heard from or about Ruth Harkness. On July 19, 1947, at age 46, Ruth Harkness was found dead in a downtown Pittsburgh hotel. If you visit Union Cemetery in Titusville, PA, you can see her tombstone – erected in 1997, some fifty years after her death. It reads: “The Panda Lady Ruth McCombs Harkness.”
Additional Resources:
"When Ruth Met Su-Lin" - article in PDF format from the Summer 2001 issue of Living Planet
"The Lady and the Panda" by Vicki Croke
The Washington Post
March 4, 2001; Page W14
Section: Magazine
Wild Animals, Gentle Women by Margery Facklam
Describes the experiences of eleven women who studied animal behavior: Belle Benchley, Ruth Harkness, Jane Goodall, Kay McKeever, Hope Buyukmihci, Karen Pryor, Eugenie Clark, Dian Fossey, Birute Galdikas, Leone Pippard, and Heather Malcolm. ISBN 015296987X
CHINA: The Panda Adventure
Presented on the spectacular giant IMAX® screen, CHINA: THE PANDA ADVENTURE is the true story of Ruth Harkness, a fiercely independent woman who travels to the mysterious forests of China to follow in her late husband's footsteps and achieve his dream of bringing the first live Giant Panda to America. Check your local listings!
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