Pablo — Saturday, October 6th, 2001

Dear friends and family of Fauna, It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear friend, Pablo.

Though his death was sudden and unexpected, a few of us were lucky enough to be with him and the other chimpanzees in the hours before he passed on. We are grateful to have had this time with him and to know that he died surrounded by people who truly loved him.

We realize that Pablo's life touched more than those people that lived and worked with him directly. Those of you who gave your time, money, thoughts and prayers for the chimpanzees here at Fauna made Pablo's last four years something worth living for. For this reason, we felt that it was important to share with you Pablo's last day, so that you too could feel that you were with him when he needed our love most.

Pablo's first symptoms of distress appeared on the morning of Saturday the 6th. As Dawna and Arryn arrived in the morning, Pablo sat in the tunnel above the front rooms struggling to breathe. He occasionally stood, rocking back and forth but not leaving the tunnel. His bottom lip was drooped and his tongue appeared purple. He looked uncomfortable and scared. He looked like he didn't know what was happening to him.

Pablo was no stranger to illness. A veteran of biomedical research and sufferer of ailments such as broken bones, chronic bronchitis, and anxiety attacks, Pablo was used to being sick. But this time something was different.

As soon as Richard Allan saw him he knew that his condition was serious. Richard immediately contacted Dr. Mahoney, a primate veterinarian who knew Pablo well, and the two struggled to diagnose Pablo over the phone. In the lab, Pablo was known as a "hard-core" research chimp because he refused to cooperate with lab technicians. Whereas some chimpanzees would present an arm or shoulder for an injection, Pablo would thrash around his cage, diving and screaming at the sight of a syringe. Gloria learned of this first hand shortly after the chimps arrived at Fauna when she pulled out a box of bandages for a medical procedure that was to take place the next day. Upon sighting the medical equipment, Pablo threw himself into a hysterical fit, thrashing around the room and nearly choking from the extent of his anxiety.

Yet on Saturday, when Richard tried to treat Pablo's condition, Pablo presented his arm to Richard for multiple injections.

Pablo's human friends, including John, Diana, Arryn, Dawna and of course Gloria, spent the morning beside him, keeping him company and offering him drinks. Pablo would occasionally get up, rock back and forth, and lay back down. Every once and a while he would lean against the caging for contact from his human friends. His bravery was contagious, and we all thought that he would pull through.

Finally, in the afternoon, Pablo's time ran out. He vomited briefly, stretched his arms in front of him, and died.

Fortunately he was surrounded by some of his closest human friends... unfortunately the exception was Pat, considered to be Pablo's closest human playmate.

After locking down the room we entered and gently lifted Pablo to the floor. Gloria always said that when a chimpanzee died she wanted the other chimps to have a chance to say goodbye. So we laid Pablo on a blanket, left the room, and let the other chimpanzees in to see him. The chimpanzees knew something was wrong, and Annie and Pepper were the first to come in and check on Pablo.

Pepper quickly climbed down the ladder and inspected his body. She instantly turned to us with an outstretched hand and screamed. Annie followed and inspected Pablo's face and chest, smelling various parts of his body. She then turned to us, squeaking, and offered her fingers through the cage. Yoko came to the door and stared at Pablo, but never crossed the threshold. Sue Ellen was never seen.

Each of the other chimpanzees that lived with Pablo entered the room, one or two at a time, and sat for a while with him. They took turns grooming him. Donna Rae looked as if she were trying to wake him up, poking him and pulling on his blankets, eventually pouring water on his face and in his ear. She finally gave up and groomed his body like the rest. Billy Jo opened Pablo's eyelids and looked into his eyes. The chimpanzees and humans all walked around in a daze, consoling each other with hugs or with touches through the bars.

Eventually, each of the chimpanzees in Pablo's current group had a chance to be with Pablo and the room was again closed off. However, Pablo was an old and dear friend of Tom, who lives alone with Jean in a smaller section of the building. The two had not been together in a while, but we thought that Tom would benefit from seeing his old friend one last time.

The door was opened for Tom to go through and he rushed down to see Pablo. Realizing that he was dead, Tom screamed and proceeded to display in the tunnel by banging and kicking the caging. When he was finished, he returned to groom Pablo.

Pablo — photo by Maggie Gillis
After all of the chimpanzees in Pablo's group had the opportunity to see him, Pablo's body was removed from the cage. A preliminary autopsy was performed, yet the results were inconclusive. We hope to have a more thorough autopsy performed, but until then we will remain unsure of the cause of his death.

Pablo died at approximately 4:00p.m. on Saturday October 6th, 2001. He was 31 years old.

We will always love him.
May he rest in peace.

Update

Fauna Advisory Board member Dr. Jane Goodall has generously agreed to transport some of Pablo's ashes to Gombe, Africa. Finally, thanks to his friend Jane, Pablo may return home.