Continuing our month of love, I have the distinct honor of writing about Missy, in the hopes that she will gain more Chimpanzee Pals.
Missy, in a word, is cool.
She is small in stature, but fits quite firmly in the “small but mighty” category. She packs a lot of muscle and a lot of spirit into a small frame.
Missy was born in captivity in 1975 and was owned by the Buckshire Corporation. She spent many years at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) that was part of New York University. There, she was used for hepatitis vaccine testing and breeding. Missy had two children during her time in biomedical research: Honey B, who lives here now, and Josh, who lives at Center for Great Apes. CGA recently wrote about Josh for an electronic newsletter and shared that he, too is quite small, weighing just 90 pounds! We don’t know Missy’s actual birth date, so we chose a date for her to celebrate: August 23rd.
Missy is very loyal to her boss, Jamie.
When we attempted the introductions between Missy’s group and the group of three that included Missy’s daughter in 2019, we learned that Missy relies on Jamie. I had always thought of Missy as quite self-reliant and confident. When she was separated from Jamie, however, she was as nervous as I’ve ever seen her. Now I think of Missy as a soldier who needs a sergeant. She understands hierarchy and wants to know her place in the order, even if her sergeant can be a bit of a bully (see Love for Jamie).
While Jamie and Honey B are both smarty-pants and mischievous in show-offy ways, Missy is quietly intelligent and clever.
She also knows how to crack herself up. This is one of my all-time favorite caught-on-camera moments of Missy. It’s from 15 years ago, so apologies for the poor quality:
Missy was Annie’s rock for the first decade or so at the sanctuary.
Just tonight, I watched Missy reach out to Annie to give her reassurance and bring her in for a hug when Annie was anxious. To both Missy and Annie’s credit, Annie has blossomed and doesn’t need Missy’s constant presence, but we still consider them best friends.
Missy is best known for being a runner. As soon as she had access to a large habitat, she ran. She’s been running ever since. J.B. described it best back then: “She is like a spring that was coiled up for decades, just waiting to be released.”
Missy has a new running buddy! She is thrilled when George, in the other habitat, challenges her to a race.
She can spot a tomato, her most favorite food in the whole wide world, from a hundred yards away. Her August birthday is perfectly timed for peak tomato season.
Are you a runner? Do you love tomatoes? Do you know someone who is / does? Well, then, it’s clearly time to become Missy’s Pal or give the gift of Pal sponsorship to your tomato-loving, uber cool, athletic BFF!
Missy currently has eleven pals. Thank you to those eleven for loving Missy, and thank you to everyone who has signed up to be a Pal or Buddy this month! Your support gives them the individualized care they deserve and keeps this blog going!
