Chimpanzees are naturally incredibly strong. This physical strength, combined with their tendency towards sudden aggression that J.B. touched on in his blog post yesterday, cautions humans who work around chimpanzees to be very, very careful. This is why when you do a quick internet search on “chimpanzee muscle strength,” the resulting articles are often tied to a report on a human who was attacked by a chimpanzee.
The text of this article from 2012 after an attack is particularly helpful in providing information about why chimpanzees are so strong, explaining that the muscle fibers closest to the bones are much longer and more dense in chimpanzees than humans, presumably making those muscles much more powerful.
When the chimpanzees arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in 2008, their muscles were atrophied or had never fully developed from lack of use, but all of the chimpanzees were still stronger (in many ways) than any of us humans could ever hope to be.
I often wonder what it felt like to use those muscles exploring their new sanctuary home. To feel them engage while running and climbing and displaying, and then to feel their strength building over time.
It must have felt both strange and exhilarating.
Here’s a tribute to respecting chimpanzee strength with some muscle shots of each of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary:
Annie’s shoulders:
We got a clear view of Burrito’s chest muscles after he was shaved for his medical exam this past summer:
Even petite Foxie has incredible upper body strength:
Hanging like this doesn’t take much effort at all by Jamie:
Jody’s certainly not the most athletic chimpanzee, but, when motivated, she uses those muscles to get her where she wants to go:
Same with Negra – she doesn’t tend to exert any more energy than necessary, but she’s pretty buff even under her more “squishy” parts:
And then there’s Missy, who uses her muscles, particularly her strong legs, as often as she can:
I wish more people understood the inherent danger in trying to “tame” them for exploitation. Thailand seems to be the worst offender in this and just can’t seem to get it through their heads that once that animal reaches FULL strength and sexual maturity, their wild instincts will kick in and they will be completely unpredictable; humans completely unprotected and no longer safe.
But every few weeks new videos will crop up from their roadside Zoos of yet more babies in nappies, performing tricks for the money that people throw down. These photos alone should be enough to convince some dickweed that even HE isn’t man enough to control them.
(BTW, LOVE that grin on Missy’s face as she’s crossing on the fire hose. 🙂 )
That photo of Jody is so disturbing, it made me gasp! It is hard for me to imaging ‘that Jody’ even being related to the Jody today. Oh what excitement they all must have felt as their bodes became healthy and strong, to climb higher & faster, walk longer, and so on. Can’t imagine! This was an enlightening post with photos that prove how happy and healthy they are. Burrito has a 6-pack, all the ladies have powerful biceps and Missy looks like a professional body builder with those thighs. (And who are you calling “squishy”?!!) ; ) I can’t say it enough, Thank You CSNW for giving them the chance to heal.