Lucy Blog

          What would you do if you had the chance to raise a baby chimpanzee into human society, and to socialize it to be as human like as possible? But then one day you just couldn't possibly take care of the chimpanzee you once thought of as your daughter anymore. It would feel like losing a child I imagine, I bet that how Lucy's parents felt.

           In the early sixties a man named Temerlin and his wife raised a baby chimpanzee to grow up as a human child, this chimpanzee was named Lucy. They adopted Lucy only a few days after her birth.She slept in a crib and was fed from a bottle for the first while with her new parents just like any other new born baby. Lucy learned sign language (140 signs), Learned how to dress herself, had the privilege to eat at the table, learned how to sit in chairs, and generally was raised like any other human child. Amazingly Lucy also learned how lie.  Lucy was famous for being attracted to male men as oppose to male chimpanzees, she even masterburated to play girl magazine.  Around that same time , the Temerlins introduced her for the first time to a male chimpanzee she had ever met.She was frightened and did not relate to him, and most certainly did not find him attractive. Temerlins thought of Lucy as their daughter, and treated her like one to. Lucy would greet friends with hugs and tea. She would boil the tea herself , find two cups, and then serve it to her guest. By the time Lucy was twelve she was just far to strong and destructive to be living with humans. Eventually she was shipped to a chimpanzee rehabilitation center in Gambia.Thats were Lucy met Janis Carter. For multiple years Lucy was unable to adapt to regular chimpanzee life, she seemed depressed and distressed. Lucy was unable to eat and expressed her sadness by using the sign for hurt. Janis stayed with Lucy for many years on a special island she discovered which she devoted for chimpanzees. Throughout the years she lived there with Lucy, Janis lived in a cage and other extreme ways to try and help Lucy get socialized to be a chimp again. A few years later Janis left the island , when she returned about a year after with some of Lucy's belongings Lucy gave Janis a long hug ,and embraced he, she then ran off with the other chimpanzees. Lucy had finally adapted to life as a chimpanzee. About a year later Janis returned again to only find Lucy skeleton, her hands were cut off, her head was separated from the rest of her body, and she was skinned. They believe Lucy was poached , because she approached the poachers because she was very comfortable around humans. 

        Lucy taught us quit a bit about chimpanzees. She taught us how human like they can be , and how its all just a matter of socialization. She taught us that being human isn't so different from being an animal, and how much our socialization separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. My perspective on chimps changed a lot after hearing this story. I always thought they were just aggressive, unintelligent animals, but now I realize that there almost as smart as us, and what separates us from chimps is quite a thin line. I think the Temerlin's experiment was very worth while , even though it was heart breaking for the Temerlins, Janis, and Lucy the experiment helped us learn so much about chimpanzees and socialization. Lucy's end was extremely sad, but she lived a very full life. She got to experience being a human girl and a chimpanzee.