Chimp Tattoos

By Kat West

At Project Chimps its not uncommon to see a tattoo here and there. Like many people some of the staff are tattooed. Did you know some chimps have tattoos as well? Why would a chimp have a tattoo? Chimp tattoos seem very odd. This blog will explain. We’ll also look at some of the interesting tattoos our staff have that celebrate their connection to chimps.

With full, healthy coats, chimp tattoos can sometimes be hard to see, depending on where they are. However, many of the chimps at Project Chimps do have tattoos. Why is this? The answer is that tattooing was commonly used in laboratories to identify individual chimps. Because of this they were given a number, or alphanumeric code, that uniquely identified each animal. These identifiers were used in official records and publications instead of names. To make sure that they were always identifiable to the lab personnel the chimps were tattooed usually on their inner thigh.

While the tattoo numbers are always part of their records, the chimps are always referred to in sanctuary reports by their names. These names are usually given to them when they are born, and sometimes they changed as they moved to new labs. However, the tattoos these chimps were given will last forever. They may become obscured or fade with time, but these marks of their pasts in laboratories will never leave them.

Staff Tattoos

Although chimps never have a choice in getting tattooed, humans do. And some of the staff at Project Chimps have made the choice to display their passion for chimps with tattoos. Kailie Dombrausky has a beautiful memorial tattoo for Alex. Sadly, Alex passed away January 2021. Kailie says she got her tattoo “to commemorate the impact that he had on me.” And loves it because now he is always with her.

Jake Cashin, a caregiver aide, has two chimp tattoos. The first commemorates Ham, the first chimp in space. In the 1960s Ham was subject to training and experiments that would be considered unethical today. Jake also has a tattoo of Haylee. Haylee was the first chimp he had a real connection with. This beautiful tattoo was drawn by Jake himself.

Forever

Tattoos are permanent reminders. Because of this, humans choose to get them to show the world what they’re passionate about. Of course, for our staff that’s chimps! Our resident chimps didn’t choose to get theirs. They are stuck with a tattoo that will always symbolize their painful past as biomedical research chimps.

As chimp lovers we can look at these tattoos and be sad that they had to live that way for part of their lives. However, we can also choose to see them as reminders that these chimps are resilient survivors. They are overcoming their traumatic history and thriving in a happy retirement.

To support our chimps and our staff donate to Project Chimps today!