“Sue Ellen sees me coming and presses her puckered lips up against the caging. I sit with her for awhile, coo a variety of meaningless, meaningful things into her Yoda ears.”
Genre: Nonfiction
Book Jacket Synopsis: “Fourteen years ago, a special family of chimpanzees was rescued from a research lab and sent to a rural sanctuary in Quebec where the animals could be cared for and loved. For the indomitable Gloria Grow, looking after thirteen great apes is like presiding over a maximum security prison, a Zen retreat, an old folks’ home, and a Montreal deli during the lunchtime rush. But she is first and foremost creating a refuge for her troubled charges, a place where they can recover and begin to trust humans again. Hoping to win some of this trust, journalist Andrew Westoll spent months at Fauna Sanctuary as a volunteer caregiver. Here he vividly recounts his adventures in the chimphouse and the heart-wrenching histories of its residents. He arrives with dreams of striking up an immediate friendship with the legendary Tom, a father figure to the rest of the chimps and Gloria’s greatest teacher. Instead, Tom haunts Westoll’s dreams. Gradually, though, the rest of the “troop” warm to Westoll. He befriends Binky, the resident practical joker; Sue Ellen, whose favorite fashion accessory is a beaded necklace; and Chance, who picks the hot peppers off her pizza. Through Westoll’s eyes, we witness the chimps’ remarkable recovery firsthand. Simple things like establishing friendships, nurturing alliances, grooming one another, and playing games of tickle-chase are all poignant testament to the capacity of these animals to heal and to learn how to be chimps again.”
Review: The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary is the best nonfiction I’ve read in awhile. Westoll somehow managed to perfectly balance his chapters, with appropriate time dedicated to the chimps themselves, their human caretakers, and the history and consequences of chimpanzee research. I had never really considered the ethical implications of biomedical research on chimpanzees before (in the sense that it’s never been on my radar), but it’s impossible not to after reading this book.
“Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: ‘Because the animals are like us.’ Ask the experimenters why it is morally OK to experiment on animals, and the answer is: ‘Because the animals are not like us.’ Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction.” – Charles R. Magel
While the scientist in me occasionally wished Westoll would include more concrete details about how chimpanzee biomedical research has rarely actually contributed to significant medical advancements, I recognize that the point of this book was more to tell the stories of Fauna Sanctuary’s inhabitants and less to provide a detailed background on the history of chimpanzee biomedical research. That being said, Westoll did an excellent job of giving the back stories of each chimp, coupled with the back stories of the human’s who forever altered their lives. I was fascinated by the role that James Mahoney – a chimpanzee veterinarian for the now-defunct Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) – played in the saga. The way Westoll tells it, Mahoney gradually became disillusioned with how the chimps were treated and cared for at LEMSIP. Although he succeeded in making admirable changes to the program, it was not enough to overcome the guilt he felt. Eventually, Mahoney would become one of the chimps’ biggest assets when LEMSIP closed, as he worked to send them to sanctuaries like Fauna instead of to other research facilities.
“They have served and I think they damn well deserve a break.” – James Mahoney
In my opinion, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary is so impactful because it does not shy away from the ugly truth of what happened to these animals. Even in sanctuary, their lives are a slim facsimile of what they should have been. There are silver moments, like the unique relationship between Tom (a chimp) and Pat (one of the original sanctuary employees). But there are also devastating moments, like when Rachel self-mutilates her hands.
“To Gloria, the cheerful term ‘enrichment’ glosses over a very simple truth she wants everyone to understand – that the quality of life for the average animal in captivity is exceedingly dismal and that enrichment objects only serve to lessen, by a small margin, the profound impoverishment of the animal’s life.”
I fully concluded that The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary was a five star book after, ironically, becoming very angry with Westoll. Spoilers ahead! Towards the end of the book, Westoll received a call from Gloria saying that one of the chimps had died. All evidence leading up to this point suggested that it was Binky. However, it turned out that Binky had managed to recover from his prolonged sickness. Instead, it was Tom, the heart of Fauna Sanctuary, who had suddenly passed away. I was momentarily furious with Westoll. It felt like emotional trickery on his end, spending hundreds of pages making me care about these chimpanzees, only to emotionally manipulate me at the very end. But I realized the only reason I was so frustrated with Westoll was because he had succeeded in making me care about what happened to these animals. That feat, in itself, is worth five stars.
“After months of wanting to connect with him, of wanting to lay my hands on him, I have finally, it seems, come to an understanding with Tommie. I wasn’t here to touch him or even to tell his life story. I was here to meet the old guy and learn to live with his loss.
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