Did poachers really kill Lucy, the sign language chimp?
ANIMAL PEOPLE in June 2006 published a review of Hurt Go Happy, a novel by Ginny Rorby, said to be based on the true story of Lucy, a chimp who was taught American sign language and was later sent to the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Trust in Gambia. The review stated as fact that “Lucy was killed by poachers in 1987.” The truth is that we have no idea how she died. Illness, a fall, snake bite, or even lightning strike are all more likely causes of her death than being killed by poachers. Dale Peterson in Chimp Travels was almost certainly paraphrasing Janis Carter, who was greatly responsible for putting Lucy through her rehabilitation ordeal, when he wrote of Lucy that “…her hands and feet [were] brutally severed and her skin simply stripped off…” He certainly quotes Carter in “…We can only speculate that Lucy was killed–probably shot–and skinned…” Carol Jahme’s Beauty and the Beast states as fact that Lucy “was killed and skinned by fishermen.” This myth continues to be repeat
