Vitiligo in Apes
By Marissa Pena
If there’s one thing our care staff knows about chimpanzees, it’s that no two chimps are exactly alike! Like humans, chimpanzees are individuals with their own personalities, food preferences, hobbies, and even favorite colors. They also each have unique physical features as well!
Spotting these differences is an important part of caring for each chimp, and something our care staff takes very seriously. But for one Lucky chimp in her new home, blending in has never been an issue!
Meet Lucky from Project Chimps
Lucky was born a star, and she wouldn’t have it any other way! She’s a very playful and extroverted chimp who loves spending time with other members of her group. She loves to explore the outdoor habitat and can often be spotted carrying around a pink blanket.
According to South Yard Supervisor Holly Soubeia, she’s also a huge foodie!
“Lucky’s favorite thing is food,” she explains. “One of the nicknames Care Staff has for her is Piglet, because of her love of food and pink face. Chimps have a food vocalization called a ‘food squeak’ when they’re excited about a food item, and every meal you can count on hearing Lucky’s happy food squeaks.”
She’s also very sociable, and has no issues managing her relationships with the other group members. Of these friends, she’s probably the closest to another female chimp named Chloe. They’ve been best friends even before their arrival at Project Chimps, and are almost always together!
“Lucky is also good friends with Panielle, and will sometimes steal Panielle’s blanket to get her to play chase,” says Holly. “Panielle is a very dominant female, and Lucky is one of the only females she won’t always stand up to and seems to consider a friend. Lucky is also good with all the males, including Kivuli. She will play chase and groom with him.”
Vitiligo in Chimpanzees
Lucky has a condition known as vitiligo, causing some areas of her skin to appear lighter in color. Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks color-producing cells in the body called melanocytes.
Although we mostly think of vitiligo as an autoimmune disorder affecting humans, other species can be impacted as well. Lucky may be one example of vitiligo in chimpanzees, but she’s by no means the only one. Vitiligo has also been seen in dogs, cats, horses, and even in giraffes!
Vitiligo can sometimes increase the risk of certain medical conditions, with Lucky, we’re mainly looking out for sunburns! Because the skin on her face is lighter than other parts of her body, a sunburn could be extra painful. Our care staff makes sure to monitor her extra carefully, and we’re always prepared just in case.
Meet Anaka from Zoo Atlanta
However, vitiligo isn’t the only reason for differences in skin pigmentation, and this is especially true for Anaka! Anaka is a western lowland gorilla at Zoo Atlanta who went viral for the unique pink pigmentation on her fingers.
Jodi Carrigan is the Curator of Primates and has been working at Zoo Atlanta for 20 years. She also took care of the gorillas that lived in the sanctuary before Project Chimps was founded!
“The change in pigment is somewhat normal for newborn gorillas, particularly on the bottoms of their feet,” she explains. “I’ve seen it with most of the infants we’ve had here. The patterns vary; sometimes there are swirls, sometimes there are blotches, etc. There’s no certain time it fades but typically in their first year or two it will have changed.”
This wasn’t the case for Anaka, however! Some guests started to wonder if the difference in color could be caused by vitiligo, but Zoo Atlanta explained otherwise. According to their website, the lighter pigmentation on her fingers was actually due to her unique birthmark!
Differences that make us Special
We don’t often consider that non-human animals can have birthmarks or skin conditions as well, but they can! About 10% of humans are born with birthmarks, and many of us might also develop freckles or moles. These features may seem small, but they’re also fantastic reminders of the similarities and differences we all share.
There are so many things that make us unique, and it’s an incredible thing to witness! But if we focus only on our differences, we might forget our similarities as well. We’re all inhabiting the same planet, and we all have things that make us special.
At Project Chimps, discovering what makes our residents unique is one of the best parts of what we do. After spending so many years without a choice, giving them the freedom to choose how they want to spend their day is an important part of our mission to provide these former research chimps with exemplary lifelong care.
If you’d like to be part of our mission to support chimps like Lucky, please consider donating today!
