MAYA
July 8, 1977 – October 7, 2024
It took Maya some time to let her guard down. Her piercing beautiful eyes revealed her kind soul. Compared to the other chimps, Maya’s hair was lighter and thinner. She had a large pink scar on her foot from past traumas. If she wanted something she would let her caregivers know by banging on the caging. She was incredibly intelligent and if you spent enough time with her to gain her trust she was incredibly kind and attentive.
Maya enjoyed lying in the sun, taking as many naps as possible. She loved spending time with friends. She was extremely close to her late friend, Spock. They spent years together at the Quebec City Zoo and then came here together. In the last years of her life she spent a lot of time with her half-sister Rachel and Binky. Whenever Binky became too rambunctious for her, she would sneak away to a tunnel or front room. Maya enjoyed novel enrichment and attention from her caregivers.
Maya's History
Maya was born at the Institute for Primate Studies in Oklahoma then sold to the University of Montréal for cross-fostering research. After the research ended, she was donated to the Québec City Zoo, where she lived for 25 years. She arrived at Fauna in 2007 with Spock and Sophie.
Maya was a beautiful chimpanzee, but a troubled one. Her years in a zoo and being cross-fostered as a youngster had left her confused and angry. Maya had always been the low-ranking chimpanzee in her group. In the early years, she had another companion and friend named Merlin. So it was Maya and Merlin, Spock and Sophie paired up, and when Merlin died, it left her as the third wheel in Spock and Sophie’s life. They were very close and when Sophie came to Fauna, it was easy to see she was the alpha of the group and Maya was not.
Sophie passed away soon after her move to Fauna and therefore she was not there to help Maya fit into Fauna’s family of chimpanzees. She had Spock to depend on and very soon after Binky became very close to her also. She seemed to enjoy time with Toby, and of course Jethro. She had many lovely moments and made many friends in her years at Fauna. She adored and was adored by Regis, Jethro, Binky, Petra, Sue Ellen and her biological half sister Rachel who passed on Jan 7, 2024.
No one word can describe Maya, there are many: beautiful, troubled, intelligent, incredible, caring, emotional, demanding (rightly so), unique, bilingual, special, loving, intense, wonderful.
May she find peace.
