And what turmoil ensued. Maaraluisa sobbed, then collapsed into my arms. I was mortified. How do I explain who and what this chimp really was, especially when the very nature of chimpanzees defies our everyday classification of the world. Yet they are not exactly like human children either.
Chimpanzees are lone members of their own special kind.
Because of this, the emotions that their lives and their deaths evoke are unique, and singularly powerful. I didn't know to expect this when I, a psychology student, first showed up for a research job interview at Columbia University in the mid-'70s. At first, no one answered the door. As I turned to walk away, a breathless man swung it open. There were screams eerie, inhuman cries.