Bobby Allen considers how clever chimpanzees have contributed to humankind’s knowledge
Many will believe (and with justified reason) that monkeys and primates are just funny looking animals who swing from trees and eat. But they are way more complex than that, their societies and traits mirror that of us humans, and I believe that we all know just how complex people can be, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. The same goes for Primates of all kinds. So which are the most fascinating?
Congo the Chimp
Congo was a chimpanzee born around 1954 who became famous for his artistic abilities. He was discovered by zoologist and surrealist painter Desmond Morris in the 1950s. By the age of two, Congo began creating abstract drawings and paintings, producing around 400 works by the age of four. Desmond Morris was fascinated at Congo’s ability to separate different shades of colour and understand blends and contrast, like a true human artist. His pieces were exhibited and sold, even catching the attention of artists like Pablo Picasso. Congo’s perception of art and his skills defied the typical expectations of animal behaviour, leaving a unique and extraordinary legacy in the art world before he tragically passed away from tuberculosis in 1964, only at 10 years old which is very young for a chimpanzee in captivity.
Ham the Chimp
Ham the Chimp, famously known as the first “hominid” (a term for Great Apes and their ancestors) to launch into space, had quite an extraordinary life. Born in 1957 in Cameroon, he was sadly captured by animal trappers and brought to the United States. Ham was selected by NASA in 1959 for the Project Mercury space program and underwent long training to prepare for his mission.
On January 31, 1961, Ham, bravely embarked on a significant mission space aboard the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission. During his flight, he successfully performed tasks to prove that humans could function effectively in space. Ham’s journey was a significant milestone in the space race as it paved the way for human spaceflight.
After his historic flight, Ham lived out the rest of his iconic days in the National Zoo in Washington, D.C, and later at the North Carolina Zoo. He passed away in 1983 and is remembered as an iconic figure in space exploration and development. His contribution marked a pivotal moment in the evolutionary quest to send humans beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
Sadly, despite Ham’s immense contributions to the future of mankind, his skeleton is hung up in the national Museum of Health and Medicine in New Mexico. Even in death he was used by humans for their own personal gain.
Enos the Chimp
Ham the Chimp was not the end of chimp shenanigans in space: only 10 months later another chimp by the name of Enos embarked on a similar mission. But this time the goal was to orbit Earth. By the time Enos flew, the U.S. once again was embarrassingly behind the Soviet Union in spaceflight progression. Two humans had circled the Earth that year: Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, and Gherman Titov, who had orbited for a full day in August 1961.
The puzzles that Enos had to perform in order to complete the mission were actually rather complicated; I know some humans who would struggle! Because he was to fly a mission lasting nearly five hours, he faced harder tests than Ham had to deal with, whose flight lasted only 18 minutes. Enos had four different tasks to successfully solve, one of which was pulling levers to turn off lights. The problem cycle lasted 12 minutes, followed by six minutes of well-deserved rest. Another task provided a chance, if performed correctly, to get a drink of water, another, banana pellets (which despite common belief is not a natural food monkeys in the wild would eat). However, to everyone’s frustration, the technology malfunctioned and no matter whether Ham would correctly complete the tasks, he would still get shocked no matter what. Admirably, he kept working as trained despite the pain.
Sadly, Enos died about a year after completing his mission, from a case of dysentery, which was stated to be unrelated to his time in space, but as always people like to speculate. And after this primate contribution U.S. involvement in the space race really kicked off. Without Enos, without Ham and all the rest of the animals which contributed, we never would have even made it close to the Moon.
But sadly, unlike with Ham we do not know what happened with his body. This raises a question which overarches this whole article. After everything they have done for us as a human race specifically, is this really how we want to repay these fascinating and sophisticated creatures?
