You know, I could cry when I watch sad movies, but the next time I watch them the sadness lingers there but I have become immune that tears do not run anymore. Well there is actually something that keeps my tears flowing, no matter how much I watch it. Many do not know this about me - but I love the great apes. I always have, and I always will. A documentary is worth watching, called ‘Chimps Unchained.’ So far, I have caught it a few times and will always end up in tears. It just opened up my eyes to the cruelty imposed by human beings, and I ask, ‘What right do we have?’

Just a summary of the documentary: It is about chimpanzees who have been either captured from the wild or been bred to do despicable tasks, just because us, humans, needed to find a solution to live longer, or laugh a bit louder. The documentary ended with those words, which were so fitting. Now that they are old, they have been sent to retirement homes for chimps, namely an island in Florida, another centre in New Mexico and another in Canada. Most of them, have never stepped on grass, or seen the world without bars covering their vision.

Video footage of a chimp forced and tied to a bed just so some scientists could meddle with some part of its body -like say, remove a healthy spine only to replace it with some robotic one, just frustrates me. I felt sad for the chimps, and angry with us. Another footage of black and white which tore me apart were two baby chimps with boxing gloves forced on them, and then sent to fight each other on the arena. Chimps who worked in the circus were removed of their teeth so they could perform a little longer and not bite.

The chimps are behind bars, even in retirement homes, because they do not have a place to be free and roll on the grass. The chimps are domesticated, most would not even survive in the wild, and they eat ice cream and put on socks. They are intelligent and remarkable animals. We have no right to inject them with fluids just so maybe you could have longer eyelashes. And did you know the United States is the only country that is still using chimpanzees for lab research? Yeah right, the lab rules are stricter now, but why have there already been deaths in three laboratories so far?

The chimp that sparked the most curiosity and sadness was a chimp named Tom, which was 40something years old, birth date unknown, origin unknown, past life unknown. He had these beautiful eyes, which were so warm and mysterious. Someone’s eyes tell us a story about their life. I could just cry seeing his eyes. He has been through enough, so they set him free into the reserve they built for them. The first thing he did was run to the grass, and he had not seen the sky or stepped on grass for 30 years. And then he climbed a tree for the first time in 30 years.

It just angers me that they are being pried open and stabbed with vaccines as if they had no value. How they lived in cages as if they deserved to live that life. And how kids see them perform in the circus not ever knowing the horrid conditions they have been in. I mean, is it right for us to remove them from their natural habitats just for our own benefit? What right do we have? There are hundreds of the retired chimps still living in cages because there is not enough space to build them an island or a playground, just because back then we did not know, or did not care to feel for this incredible animals, that we put them in so much misery. How would you feel if you were caged, and the only world you know is that concrete floor? Do you not care? Do you not see? These apes are just not ‘things’. If they were meant to do these things, why were they found in a jungle, and not your backyard? How could we live with ourselves, how could we live with the eyes that watch us behind the bars that demand freedom? What right do we have?

You know, eyes always tell us a story. If you saw the eyes of the retired inmates, it could break your heart. We have done terrible things to them, and we are not quite sure if they have forgiven us, but they received and loved their caretakers. The people I saw in that documentary were selfless, spending every penny just so that the chimps could have a better life. I think that is what I want to do. I have a strong passion for apes, I really do.

We say we are the smartest creatures. But are we? How can you know, because from what I saw from those eyes, especially from Tom’s, there is so much unspoken wisdom. How they lie on the grass, and on trees, gazing at the midnight sky. What are they thinking? Are they relived to have had the smell of grass for the first time? I do not think we will ever know.
It will only be another 50 years until they completely disappear from the wild.

Labels: animals