Reluctantly, the Hoffmanns sold their young siamang to another animal dealer. This man was putting together a shipment of animals to send to the United States. Representatives from several different American zoos would look over the animals, buying those they wanted for their collections. Unk became one small part of that shipment. Unk was little more than one year old. In the forests of Sumatra, a siamang of that age would live with its parents, almost constantly in contact with them, never out of their sight for more than a few minutes. A wild one-year-old siamang needed its parents. Unk needed his parents, too. And for him, parents meant Dieter and Gretchen. Truly alone for the first time, Unk acted frightened and withdrawn on the trip to the United States. He bit any attendant who tried to comfort him. By the time the ship docked in New York, Unk looked like anything but a healthy animal. His fur was dull and lifeless, his eyes had lost their sparkle, and he was far too thin. He had developed what looked like a permanent case of the sniffles. Then there was the problem of his disposition--he behaved aggressively toward everyone. If he was difficult to handle now, what would he be like in a couple of years, when his weight doubled and he had an adult set of teeth? That is, what would he be like if he survived? Siamang gibbons were zoo rarities but the animal dealer could not find anyone who wanted Unk. To all the American zoo representatives who saw him, this siamang looked like a bad risk. So Unk was returned to Germany. The German zoos didn’t want him either, but finally the Hanover Zoo agreed to take him. There, under a program of intensive medical treatment and good nutrition, Unk slowly got well again. He was placed in a large, airy cage, with plenty of room for exercise. Unfortunately, the zoo could do nothing about his need for companionship. Gretchen and Dieter visited him once in a while, but they could neither stay nor take him home with them. There were no other siamangs in the zoo. And Unk was too big and aggressive to be placed with any of the smaller gibbons. Over the next few years, Unk grew into a magnificent animal. He had long, lustrous black fur, weighed close to fifty pounds, and was extremely strong. He often hung from his cage bars by his hands, staring at the zoo visitors. He was a popular attraction, especially on those occasions when he inflated his throat sac and let out a whoop or two. But one sad fact remained: Unk was alone.