Launching Chimpanzee Into Space
The video starts with incredibly cute footage of Ham as a baby chimp. It explains that when he was two years old, he was purchased by the US Air Force and was trained to complete simple tasks. They included hitting simple levers to get a treat – they concluded that Ham was pretty smart. He was also a faster learner than many of the other chimps that they had worked with. The decision was made to launch him into space and the scenes where he is clearly confused about what is happening to him are not easy to watch but reflect the attitudes of the day towards animals and science. His rocket (the Mercury-Redstone rocket) was launched successfully in 1961 and reached 252km in height. Despite the fact that the NASA scientists lost control of it at one stage, it spent 16 minutes in space and then returned to earth, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. His rocket capsule gently came down into the water supported by three brightly colored parachutes. It was rescued by a helicopter and carried onto a ship. As the rescuers gathered around, they were astonished to find that Ham was alive and well. He looks a little bemused about why all these people are staring at him!
The Sad Part…
Instead of receiving a hero’s welcome, poor Ham was sent to a zoo where he lived alone. He lived here for 17 years and whilst his physical needs were probably met, zoos in those days understood lless about enrichment activities and the psychological welfare of animals. We learn from the video notes that Ham died on January 17th 1983 and we see that his skeleton has been retained. Chimpanzees are amongst the most intelligent animals on the planet and share 98 percent of their DNA with humans. This makes them obvious candidates for scientific research but also places the greatest responsibility to treat them ethically.
Next up:
Watch a Little Girl and a Gorilla at The Zoo Play Kiss Through The Glass Watching This Baby Gorilla and Monkey Playing Is Simply Adorable Watch What Happens When a Zookeeper Introduces a Silverback to Their Newborn
