Apparently there is a new movie out about Project Nim.
The story of Nim Chimpsky is one worth considering, and many think of it primarily as a cautionary tale. Here are a few things that I learned not to do from observing the experience of Nim Chimpsky:
- Don’t attempt to teach a language you are not fluent in.
- Don’t think of a chimpanzee as an expendable research animal.
- Don’t pay so much attention to keeping records that you don’t notice the day to day interactions that you have.
- When you do film, you need to watch the footage soon thereafter, not years later.
- Do not constantly switch caretakers. Any child, even a chimpanzee youngster, needs security and love and to know there is someone who will always be there for him.
- To avoid power struggles, go in with the chimpanzee one at a time, if he shows signs of wanting to start a fight. Don’t let him pick on the less powerful person in the room.
- Do not become so dependent on external funding that when the funding runs out, you have to quit.
- Use your resources wisely.
Here’s what I did not learn from Project Nim: that you should never try to learn more about chimpanzees. That you should never try to teach a chimpanzee language. That humans and chimpanzees can never be friends.
In the movie trailer, Herbert Terrace asserts that nobody keeps a chimpanzee past the age of five. You know what I did when Bow turned five? I caged myself, so I could be with him. I did this, when I had no institutional support.
Here is a picture of me and Bow:
If you would like to read more about Nim or Bow, or other apes that were cross-fostered in human families, please consider the following books. If you buy them through this link, you will be helping Project Bow.
The book, Nim Chimpsky, was very upsetting to me. It was so obvious that everything they did was just “make it up as you go along”. Poor Nim really suffered needlessly. It’s good you weren’t just flying by the seat of your pants trying to get funding for Bow! No critter, chimp, human or otherwise could flourish under the circumstances described in the book, Nim Chimpsky!
Thanks, Suzanne. I totally agree.
As always, your insights and articles are rich with helpful information. I continue to be amazed, entertained and illuminated following you and Project Bow. Thanks for all the great work you do!
Thanks, Shifting Paradigm! It’s always encouraging to know that people are supportive of Project Bow.