For World Monkey Day on 14.12.

The least I can do is speak up for those who can't do it themselves.

– Jane Goodall

We know films like “Gorilla in the Mist”, the rhesus monkeys Abrek and Bion, who flew into orbit from the Soviet Union for five days in 1983, or the film “Daktari” with Judy and Clarence.
We find apes funny and entertaining, we know that they can copy human movements and we know that they are clever. Humans think they are superior to animals, but more and more we are being taught otherwise.

Our closest relatives hold up a mirror to us

Primates are the closest biological relatives of humans, because around seven million years ago, nature determined that primates should be the closest relatives of humans. It has been proven that the DNA of chimpanzees is 98.7% identical to that of humans.

Gänserndorf, one of Gut Aiderbichl’s special animal sanctuaries, has been home to several groups of chimpanzees, the so-called ex-lab monkeys of Immuno, an Austrian research laboratory, for many years. It was a courageous and important project by Michael Aufhauser and Dieter Ehrengruber to give the chimpanzees the chance to live on after they had become unusable for research.

The ex-lab monkeys have a clear way of communicating with their environment

Chimpanzees communicate with each other in many different ways. It is a complex system of voice, sounds, gestures, body language and facial expressions. Our chimpanzees greet each other by “panting”, Martha shows her anger by “grunting”. They laugh like humans when playing and tickling. Nervousness is shown by hairs standing up all over the body.By observing our ex-lab monkeys, we can now recognise excitement, joy, anger or nervousness – the monkeys tell us unmistakably how they are feeling.

Observation of the ex-lab monkeys over many years also proves that the animals can think, that they observe and plan, that they fall in love and that they also need routine in their lives. For example, a quiet, enjoyable picnic is always part of the routine for Spätzle, Benjamin, Star and Denise. Having a picnic together is an important ritual and takes place in the houses or in the outdoor enclosure. Behind this idyll is a lot of sensitivity, setbacks, patience and trust between the chimpanzees and their people in the red T-shirt, the Aiderbichler animal keepers.

Ex-lab monkey Anton wants to impress and seeks physical contact

Each of the Immuno’s ex-lab monkeys has a special character and also displays special behaviour in their group. Anton is the “smart one” in the group. He always needs and seeks reassurance in the form of physical contact. The ladies are particularly fond of him. He is considered a “womaniser” and has now also learned to display typical male chimpanzee behaviour from time to time. For example, Anton wants to impress, although he sometimes lacks the skill to do so and only tries.

We are in their debt … The ex-lab monkeys need time to process the memories of life in research

“We are in their debt. They were torn away from their family and their natural environment and locked up. Re-socialisation will never be complete because chimpanzees are intelligent and their brains work like humans: they may forgive, but they will not forget. For years, a human in a grey protective suit, with hair under a cap, mouth and nose hidden behind a protective mask, meant nothing good for the chimpanzees. The memories and pain suffered are deeply embedded in the animals’ brains and souls. Today, the chimpanzees know that the people with the red T-shirt only have good intentions for them.”

– Renate Foidl, head of the ape sanctuary in Gänserndorf.

The inner peace of the ex-lab monkeys has slowly been achieved through calm and routine in their daily routine. In the morning, the chimpanzees are called by name to collect their breakfast. Then they play, some go into the outdoor enclosures, some prefer to stay inside. In the evening, the bedtime ritual begins. The chimpanzees spend hours preparing their sleeping area before they enjoy dreaming peacefully. They sleep for a long time, up to 11 hours. Like humans, there are morning grouches.

How arrogant are we to believe that humans are superior in everything?

This is one of the fascinating statements made by behavioural scientist Jane Goodall (Jane Goodall in an interview, Phoenix in person, Theo Koll). She knows what she is talking about, having spent many years of her life with wild chimpanzees in Tanzania, observing and studying the behaviour of these wonderful animals.

Mother chimpanzees comfort their children, they can rejoice and mourn when one of their number dies. Apes can cry, they are loners or sociable like us humans. Humans believe that they are the inventors of tools, but chimpanzees also make tools that they use for all sorts of things.
Chimpanzees have thousands of different sounds with which they communicate. Chimpanzees can paint, albeit a little differently than humans, but they can do it. A ball is not painted in a round shape, but is drawn in a zig-zag line on paper, i.e. the chimpanzee paints as it observes the ball bouncing. And so it draws the line and not the round ball.

The position of humans and apes in nature

Man thinks he is the master of the universe. They have the money, the power and the assertiveness to influence nature through modern technology – to the point of destroying the natural habitat.

Apes mimic humans – but would they ever go so far as to destroy their natural environment? Animals never lose their reverence for nature, because they live in and with nature – a realisation that is increasingly being lost on humans.