Love at First Sight for Jill Nielsen
By Luke Shannon
Jill’s story of getting involved with Project Chimps was one of ‘love at first sight.’
A Helpful Tip
Jill Nielsen has been a volunteer with Project Chimps since 2018. She was recognized almost immediately by many of the inhabitants of this villa, and gave some valuable advice before she led me in.
“Make sure you have that face shield on- Haylee likes to mess with new people,” she said.
True to her reputation, Haylee left Jill completely untouched but doused her face shield in saliva. This interaction was impressive to for a few reasons. It showed both Jill’s knowledge and relationship with the chimps. And also Haylee’s ability to recognize different people through masks and face shields.
Love at First Sight
With the food distributed to every chimp, the noise in the DJ&T villa has calmed down for a moment. Jill spent much of her time in DJ&T preparing for a test of every chimp’s name. She explained that many of the chimps having different food weights depending on their weights and other physical conditions. As a nurse practitioner in her everyday job, helping primates is second nature to her.
When she visited the sanctuary years ago, she knew she had both the passion and education to help the chimps in a way not many others could. She earned a doctorate in nursing from the University of Tennessee after getting her master’s in public health from Emory University. Her expertise in the medical field made her an obvious candidate to work in the veterinary section of the non-profit. First, though, she would have to earn that role.
Starting off
Like most volunteers, Jill started in the kitchen just beneath the main office of Project Chimps. There, all the chimps’ meals, including forages and enrichment, are prepared.
“Working in the kitchen is a good first step for anyone here,” Jill said. “It helps you get to know what kind of nutrients you’re giving the chimps if you move on to chimp care work.”
Keep your Friends Close
We head upstairs to toss cereal around the villa for the chimps’ forage that evening. Jill is still working on making sure she has the names of every chimp here down pat. One of the most obvious is Marlon, who puckers his lips on and through any surface as if expecting a kiss. As we get to the top of the villa, Marlon climbs with us and expands his puckered mouth. He’s expecting food to be dropped right in!
As the other chimps of his villa see this, they copy the behavior, each hoping to catch a bit of cereal. Jill is happy to play along, making sure to toss extra for all to forage throughout the night.
Jill’s proximity to the campus allows her to hear the chimps throughout that night, something she said her children like. They have visited the sanctuary several times and had the opportunity to experience the connection many humans have with fellow primates.
Jill Nielsen- Animal Enthusiast
Jill moved in when Project Chimps was still Gorilla Haven, so she was expecting to be working with a different type of ape. However, she has found the opportunity to volunteer with Project Chimps fascinating. She added that she would be happy to work with any kind of primate, from humans to monkeys. With rumors that lab research on lesser apes may soon be made illegal in the United States- as it was for chimpanzees in 2015– she may have a chance to do exactly that some day.
Despite being a medical professional in her everyday career, Jill has been happy to help in many aspects of campus. When she is not needed in the veterinarian’s office, she guides tours and assists chimp caregivers in the villas. She has logged over 100 hours in the kitchen preparing food for her friends. However, she is always ready to go when medically needed. She often assists with physicals, vasectomies, or other scratches or bruises that come as part of chimp life.
To this point, her knowledge of each individual chimpanzee in the villas comes in extremely handy. She can recite underlying medical conditions of many chimps we see. She only reports one female in this villa as having a truly chronic condition (and encourages her to drink extra fluid because of it.) However, she does attest to mental problems, including PTSD, being much more common. This is a result of the time chimps spent in the lab as subjects of experiments earlier in life. Chimp caregiver, Alan, agrees, though, that these behaviors are getting progressively better the longer the chimps are here in their ‘forever home.’
Bond Between Chimps
At Project Chimps, there exist strong social bonds that help alleviate stresses for these great apes. Chimps are often seen hugging or otherwise consoling others that are having a difficult time. Like humans, chimpanzees are social creatures. The presence of their family members seems to help them, Jill reported.
Jill’s medical background gives her a special set of skills she can use to help the chimps, but you don’t need any expertise to volunteer.
Jill is not in every day, but her volunteering makes a difference in the lives of 81 chimps every time she is. You, too, can volunteer with Project Chimps, by submitting a volunteer application on the website, or by sending an email to volunteer@projectchimps.org.
