Kiko, a 17 year-old chimp who is on Dramamine because he develops motion sickness during dramatic changes in the barometer, was acquired after the sanctuary learned about a six-year old deaf chimp up for sale—he was discovered in Ohio, weighing only 35 pounds, half of his normal weight, being used as an attraction at an ice-cream parlor and was immediately brought to our sanctuary. He had not been born deaf; while a player on the set of Tarzan, he bit an actor and was punished by having two trainers hold him while a third struck him on the head with a blunt instrument, causing permanent damage to the stem of his brain that resulted in his deafness. He exhibited neurotic behavior after his arrival at the sanctuary that included banging his head against the wall and floors. Charlie, with whom he shares a cage, would ‘tickle chase’ and engage him in other distracting activities, finally helped him to cease his head-banging. With Charlie’s help, Kiko was able to end his destructive behavior—a moving testimony to the strong cognitive ability of these animals.
