This letter is passed on to all prospective adoptive parents of primates as we hear of them. Although this letter speaks specifically of chimpanzees, and is obviously drawn from our direct experience in caring for members of that species, the points made here also apply to other non-human primates.
Unless you are completely and totally committed (i.e. able to provide a large indoor/outdoor steel enclosure) it would be unwise to become the guardian of a chimpanzee. You and yours may be able to provide the love and care it takes to raise a child (chimpanzees included) during their infancy and pre-teen years but you will not be able to manage an adult chimpanzee.
When a chimpanzee grows and develops into an adult he or she no longer wants to play, dress up, sit on the potty and behave according to human rules. Their personalities and emotions become affected by hormones at adolescence, just like human teens. They become frustrated, aggressive and downright mean…and who can blame them. They want and need to be with their own people: to swing free, rest often and eat whatever is in abundance. And most important they need to be with those who speak the same language - Chimpanzee.
We are able to control and manipulate vulnerable young chimpanzees into performing to please us, but they don't need us, they need other chimps. Yes, you will be able to raise and love and receive the same back, but what happens when all of a sudden your grown chimpanzee wants something you cannot give them? Adults (male and female) have the physical strength to dismember you, your child, your pet... and out of frustration and confusion, could very well do so.
We are sure there are folks who may claim to have lived with chimpanzees that behaved as humans all of their lives, but we are just as sure that truly successful examples of this are few and far between. You can remove teeth, digits and medicate but then who are you left with? Is this the soul you raised, loved and nourished? Is this really what you want for a chimpazee you love?
And when the crisis hits, the big question becomes, "What do we do with our chimpanzee now?" No walls in your home can contain them when their anxiety consumes them. They lash out at you (the love of their life and their most trusted companion) through sheer confusion over how to manage in their humanized world. There are no daycare centers for you to turn to, there is no relief. So do you take your baby to a zoo? A circus? A laboratory? Exactly where are you going to go? A Sanctuary! Unfortunately, you can count the number of chimpanzee sanctuaries in North America on one hand, and all of them are full. So you find you are left with a terrible set of options and the future of your chimpanzee looks pretty bleak.
Please consider sponsoring instead of adopting a chimpanzee. Adoption will surely spell disaster for you both, but especially for the chimpanzee. If you are looking for a life-long commitment, there are millions of human children from countries far less privileged than ours that are in need of the same love. Become a parent by adopting a human child.
Chimpanzees as pets