The other day, I was sitting with Terry. He was in one of the front rooms, and I sat on the other side of the mesh from him. He was very intent on grooming my right hand and my left boot. He was making his quiet lip-popping grooming noises that he does. No one else was around.
In some ways, it was an ordinary moment. I’ve had hundreds, I guess thousands now, of similar moments with chimpanzees.
For whatever reason, it struck me then how extraordinary that moment really was. That I was sitting with an individual of another species, so close to my own DNA, but so different at the same time. That he was being so gentle and quiet. That we were sharing this moment together. Communicating. Bonding. Trusting each other.
I remembered in that moment the first time that I met Terry at Wildlife Waystation. I remembered promising him that we were going to bring him to a new home with his friends and that he was going to have so many new experiences.
Our relationships as caregivers with the chimpanzees are so complicated, as I’ve mused about in the past (my first musing about this on this blog was July, 2008, which you can read here).
Every once in a while, at unexpected times, seemingly out of nowhere, I’m almost overwhelmed by the experience of being with one of the chimpanzees, and I recognize what a remarkable job I have stumbled into.
The promise I’ve made these chimpanzees, though Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, is their lifetime care. I didn’t understand all that came with that when I started, of course. You can’t foresee all of the challenges ahead nor how they will impact you – that goes for most of life. I don’t have control over all of what’s to come, but I can work to keep my promise.
In that moment with Terry, I silently renewed my promise to him. I will do everything I can to ensure that he has the care he deserves for whatever happens in his future, and I will work to fill his days with hope, love, adventure, and a sense of home.
Thank you for helping us fulfill this promise to Terry and everyone here.
