Project Nim Reflection

  The opening of the documentary Project Nim will forever be embedded into my mind.  Authentic footage showed a mother chimpanzee curled into herself in a corner with a baby cradled in her arms.  Nim, the infant chimp, was her sixth child after her previous five were abducted by researchers.  It was obvious to me, and surely the scientists about to sedate the mother, that she knew exactly what was going on and what was about to happen.  The anger I felt towards those researchers was and still is unfathomable.  I realize this research project took place in the seventies, but did they not have any compassion, morals, or common sense to see how inhumane that was?  With my rage boiling inside of me, my heart broke instantly at the sight, even more when I saw Nim crying helplessly for his mother in someone else's arms.

  All I could think about after that, and throughout the rest of the documentary was what if I was the mother and had all six of my kids taken away?  How depressed would I be?  I wondered what exactly was going through the mind of that childless chimpanzee and if I could even attempt at understanding what it was like.  I am so heartbroken at the thought of this and in complete disbelief that people thought that was okay, especially if they had children of their own.  Did no one sympathize with these chimps they experimented on day and night, forcing them into cages and into a lifestyle they were never meant to have?  

  The project was extremely interesting though.  The goal was to find out what went through a primate's mind and if they could teach Nim, and other chimps, sign language so they can communicate with humans.  What surprised me was how fast Nim was able to sign words and create demands and almost have a conversation with the people he made a connection with.  This should not have surprised me however, considering I knew since I was very little that chimpanzees as well as other apes are highly intelligent.  Yet I was, probably because I never witnessed a chimp learning and developing, just as a human infant would.  The similar characteristics between the two were astounding, the only difference was Nim could not make human words, had hair everywhere, and was able to climb and run.

  After watching Project Nim, I was speechless.  One question that kept I kept thinking was why did the faculties not treat the animals in a more humane way and did they not know that forcing the chimps into cages was not a natural way of living?  One chimp facility Nim was deceived into living in used cattle prongs to keep them in check.  It was a chimp prison, except none of the inmates deserved to be in or had any choice to be there.  These mammals feel, they have needs that are evident just like a human being. I was so frustrated with the lack of commitment the researchers that had a true, intimate relationship with Nim had to Nim in the end.  Sure they protested a little and was angry when the head director ended the project but all they did was tranquilize Nim and take him to a prison they thought he would stay for the rest of his days (he doesn't but they didn't know that).  Nim was like a child to them, how could they stand back and watch him suffer?  

  Project Nim was an experiment that involved animal testing.  That concept alone was a major red flag to me because I am against the act.  To this day there are ongoing experiments using animals as tools and I believe no animal should ever deserve that treatment, even if there are laws today that protect against inhumane behavior.  Also, the documentary revealed animal mistreatment--cattle prongs, cages no bigger that a couple feet wide and some feet tall, and eventual solitary confinement that was mistakenly thought of as okay.  Chimps are very social animals and are wild animals so of course they would not bend to the will of humans who were so below their physical prowess and wild nature.  

  It was admitted that the head researcher had quite a couple affairs with his students and colleagues and was one of the reasons he gave Nim to the first family.  For one, that was so inappropriate, to choose a woman he had an affair with as the caretaker of a chimp mostly because there was sexual relationship between them.  This is a chimpanzee, not a doll, and the lead researcher should have taken a lot more precautions and set up the environment and experiment better.  Along with setting up the project better, the first family that Nim was with, had no scientific experience and had no idea what they were doing when it came to providing information and observations of Nim and his development.  There were no log books or scheduled routines for a long time while Nim was growing up and that probably had a serious affect on him in the long run, even though he eventually had a more calming and scientific environment.  One last concept that I found horrendous in the documentary was when a worker at the chimp prison let Nim drink alcohol and smoke weed.  I was happy that even in that hellhole Nim found a buddy to be himself with and be spoiled again, but allowing an animal to become intoxicated, with no idea how that might affect him is irresponsible and wrong.