Ivan was bought by Mack who, along with his wife Helen, raised Ivan as a human child, giving him a toy bike and feeding him junk food, but denying him the one thing he truly needed-the companionship of other gorillas. Tag, who couldn’t let go of her past, died, and Ivan chose to forget his heritage in order to survive. Through Ivan’s story, readers also learn about Ivan’s “perfect life” (127) in Africa with his gorilla troop, which ended when humans murdered his parents and shipped Ivan and his twin sister, Tag, to the US in a crate. The other animals mourn Stella’s death, and when Ruby asks Ivan to tell her a story about his childhood, Ivan finally forces himself to confront the memories he’s suppressed. Stella’s foot injury from her time in the circus has become infected, and knowing she won’t survive, she asks Ivan to ensure Ruby lives in safety-and Ivan agrees on his “word as a silverback” (113). However, Ruby also remembers humans who saved her when she fell into a hole in Africa, and Stella describes zoos where humans provide a “safe place” (64) for animals, thus suggesting that humans aren’t all bad. When Ruby describes how humans killed her family and took her captive, the animals realize they’ve all suffered at the hands of human cruelty: Humans murdered Ivan’s parents, Stella was chained and forced to perform in a circus, and Bob was abandoned on the freeway with his siblings, who didn’t survive.

Stella immediately takes on the role of Ruby’s caretaker and protector, and Ivan quickly gets to know and care for the friendly young elephant as well. Mack, the mall owner, explains he bought Ruby from a bankrupt zoo to bring new income to the struggling mall, and Mack treats Ruby callously right from the get-go, impatiently forcing her out of the truck she arrived in.

All the animals at the mall experience a huge shift in their existence when a baby elephant, Ruby, arrives at the mall.

The one and only bob pages