Introduction- In 1964, a couple in Oklahoma raised a chimpanzee, named Lucy, as if she was a human child. She sat at the dinner table, was potty-trained, wore clothes, and spoke sign language. She carried out day to day life as if she was a human. She developed sexual urges that were only directed at humans. She became stuck in between being a chimp, and being a human. The only escape from never being able to fully reach the only identity you've ever known, is to start over and live the life you were supposed to. In Lucy's case, becoming a chimp.
Lucy was born to circus chimpanzees, and only two days after her birth, she was placed with Maurice Temerlin, a psychotherapist and professor, at the University of Oklahoma, and his wife, Jane. They treated her as if she was their own, little, human baby. She made tea for her guests, drank straight gin, and could lie. She was so adapt to human life, that she lied. Lying was supposedly a trait unique to humans. Lucy was so caught in the middle. She wasn't a human, and she never could be. Eventually she was sent to an ape rehabilitation center, followed by an isolated island where she did not have access to human tools that she had become so familiar with. She never showed any desires toward other chimps and had several signs of depression. When Lucy was left with only other chimps on an island, she survived less than two years. Whether she had approached poachers or couldn't survive in nature, is speculated.
Lucy's story is so amazingly tragic. She came closer to the barrier than anyone before her. She was one step closer to determining how close chimpanzees can come to being human. She is a clear demonstrator of how terrible it is to be stuck in between identities. When determining if Lucy ever really found peace after being abandoned by the only family she'd ever known, one can never be sure.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
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