Born around 1970 in Africa, was captured at a young age for use in the entertainment industry. Shortly thereafter, he wound up at the Institute for Primate Studies at the University of Oklahoma and was later transferred to LEMSIP in 1981. In 10 years at LEMSIP (he spent 6 years in the 80s at the Buckshire Corporation), Ch-377 was darted 220 times and had over 30 punch liver, bone marrow and lymph node biopsies.

On one occasion he chewed off one of his fingers and on yet another he was accidentally hit with darts in the lip and forehead. Perhaps to fight the boredom and to ease the anxiety, Pablo began the common lab chimp practice of smearing and eating feces. Pablo used to scream when the doors to his unit were opened, terrified of what could happen to him or to one of his unit mates.

Despite repeated inoculations with HIV with as much as 10,000 times the lethal dose, Pablo never became HIV positive. Like Annie, Pablo’s years in sanctuary could not undo the physical damage that was done to his body in the lab. Pablo died on October 6, 2001 at the age of 31.

Date of birth: Born in 1970, celebrated February 14 - October 6, 2001
Aka: Pabbie, Micky Lips

Pablo was unique and special in many ways. He was built like a power lifter -- stocky, strong, solid, muscular and dense. He looked tough and ready to take on anyone. Yet, when he was happy, his face often had a soft look about it with amazing full lips, like Mick Jagger! Sadly he most often looked mean or angry.

We found out very soon that he was in fact an incredibly affectionate, sensitive and tender soul. This was a side of him that was reserved for his chimpanzee family to whom he was a loyal friend and ally. With us, he showed his bitterness, anger and fear, and his distaste for our lack of honor, dependability or loyalty as human beings.

Pablo scared us a lot, always trying to get us. Even if he actually looked happy, he still tried -- never missing an opportunity to try to grab or spit on us. I know how hard we all tried to appeal to him in any way we could. We tried all the usual things: invite him to play or bring him favorite foods or items he enjoyed -- anything to try to make friends with him. Yet we were always failing. He had no use for us humans and he had every reason to feel this way. We always hoped that a moment would come where we would be accepted, even if only to apologize for all the horrific things others have done to him and other chimpanzees.

We came to learn that there was no secret thing we could bring to him that would make him like us. What we had to do was be true and honest with Pablo. It took us some time to figure that out. We had to wait, to earn his trust, to be patient, and to always be sincere. No tricks, no betrayal or dishonesty. He had no reason what so ever to be nice to us and no reason at all to trust us. Why should he? Why would he? Earning his trust would time take and a great deal of work.

It isn’t easy to always be nice in life. Some days we feel a little cranky, not so social and not so careful with our words. But with someone like Pablo, you had no choice. He had no tolerance for anything or anyone who would not make an effort. He expected a lot from us, and had zero tolerance for anything less than our best behavior always.

I respect him for that. He kept us keen and very aware at all times of the sensitivity and fragility of the emotions of chimpanzees -- particularly those who are or have come from such an extremely cruel environment where fear, anxiety, pain, trauma and grief is a constant part of each and every day.

We learned a lot about how to love unconditionally from Pablo. He just never gave in and worked hard to keep his distance. Sometimes it felt as though he wanted to relax and stop being on guard but the sensible side of him always won. And so, he remained angry and cautious.

To try to build a relationship with an individual who has been through such a brutal life and bears so many scars from the past is not an easy task. To sit in front of a chimpanzee who has invited you over with a gesture, initiating play, who then spits in your face is not easy. It was what we had to do in order to gain his trust. He set us up by acting nice to get us closer, only to take advantage of the opportunity to try to grab or scratch us and almost always spitting with a look of sheer hatred. He let us know we meant absolutely nothing to him -- not necessary or important in his life.

It was hard indeed. Pablo was considered a “Hard Core Research Animal”. These words always felt uncomfortable to me, and I can only imagine what they mean by that exactly. I know for a fact that Pablo’s files indicate that he was “...always darted.” He never accepted just a needle. That would mean that he was difficult, did not co operate, and left the technicians with no choice but to use the dart gun.

Darting with a gun is violent, much more painful and far more stressful than an injection. But for Pablo his spirit was preserved as he never gave in to his victimization. He was a testament to chimpanzee will and determination.

Pablo was a fearless, heroic and very proud chimpanzee. He fought hard to hang on to his dignity, never giving in to them. Sadly, though his will was strong and though they never took his pride from him, his body lost the fight. All the damage done over those years in a lab was irreparable.

He will always be remembered as a most courageous chimpanzee.

At Fauna, the day came when he did find a friend or two that he trusted. He was very close to Tom Chimpanzee. They had a special and loving relationship. He was amazing with Donna Rae, Pepper and Sue Ellen, but it was his relationship with Tom that helped him trust humans. Anyone who knows anything about Tommy knows how close he is to Pat the human. If you are a chimpanzee living at Fauna, you also know this fact. Pat and Tom exhibit a tremendous amount of love and respect for one another, a relationship that all the residents of Fauna witnessed daily. So it is not really a surprise that Pablo would see for himself that Pat was important to Tommy.

Because of Pablo and Tom’s relationship, Pablo would not want to upset Tom by hurting Pat, and so a friendship began between Pat and Pablo.

That was how it started, by watching and learning and trusting. He started to let go a little with Pat, then with one or two volunteers. Pablo was actually nicer to people who came and volunteered for short periods of time and then left. Pablo was a lot harder on those of us who were there everyday. We locked the doors, we made decisions about where everyone had to go, we served the food, we essentially controlled his life, and he objected to that. I do not for one second blame him for that, his wrath was justified.

We apologized for the things we did that upset him. Then one day, he didn’t seem to care anymore. He would go on with whatever he had to do, and ignore us -- a great step for him to not care about all the little things in a day that used to cause him extra anxiety. He now had a life with new friends and reunited with old friends. With fights and friendships to worry about, Pablo’s life began again.

The day he died was the day we knew how much he really relied on us and had grown to trust us. It was one of the only days in his long history of refusing to accept injections that he actually presented his arm repeatedly for injections -- clearly understanding that we might be helping him and most importantly, that the needles were for his benefit, not for the benefit of someone else.

Social Status: Respected, liked, feared, great social skills, good in most group situations. Very important in group dynamic.

Favorite Activities: I will always say that tormenting and picking on me was high on his list of priorities. He seemed to get a lot of satisfaction from scaring me, or pinning my feet down, with the help of his friends Tommy, and Yoko. These guys often worked together to get my feet, as I had to walk on the overhead chutes to clean. On many occasions I had to call for help from Pat, to ask his buddies to let me go. For the longest time they did this kind of thing to me when Pat was not around. I think they knew he would never believe that they would do such a thing. When they were caught in the act, they always just let me go and never let on how very serious they were about squeezing or trapping my feet in my shoes, by pulling my shoe laces. I think this really empowered Pablo and Tommy. They did it together -- just two guys with a lot to prove and a lot of pay back to get.

When they were not after me, they were laughing and rolling around in great embraces, hugging each other, and giving each other neck tickle grips. They were hysterical. They chased each other around a plastic table, pulled each others feet, and then lay on the floor together laughing.

Pablo loved to eat and loved to be with his friends when he did. He always enjoyed the wide variety of foods and party treats. He was so busy hugging everyone when he saw the good stuff coming, and often got so into the hugs, he nearly forgot why he was so happy in the first place. This was always a complete joy to witness. Pablo would gather all the family to come and see what great things were being served and they would all sit together to enjoy these special times. We have many photos of the picnic table brunches, great moments and happy times for Pablo and his friends.

Pablo loved water activities: the hose for drinking, the buckets of water, and the time spent with everyone during these activities. But most of all he just loved to be with the girls. If he could not be with the girls then a nice bachelor group was just as important to him. He laughed. He played. He loved and he fought. He was a perfectly well rounded individual with all the normal behaviors.

The only thing that stressed him were fights that he did not want to be a part of but had to because of loyalties, or fights he could not be a part of but wanted to because of loyalties. Some of the many problems and frustrations with life in captivity come when you see your best friend on the other side of the bars in trouble and you cannot go to help. He would get so upset by these situations that he would choke and gag out of control. It was sad to see and almost impossible to consol him. But, Donna Rae, Yoko, and Tommy were there to hug him when he needed it. Pablo did not like to be alone. He was almost always with someone or not far from the others. He was a social, loving and very loved friend.

Favorite Foods: Pablo’s pleasure seemed to be in taking as much as he wanted of anything, not to eat necessarily, but to have. When he had a bowl placed in front of him to choose what he wanted, he would simply keep on taking, generously filling his very wide mouth. He was able to put a large number of fruits and vegetables in his mouth, and then fill up his arms with as much as he could carry. Once he reached the nearest spot to take his stash, he would lay it out in front of him, pleased. He would then sit and eat the best of the lot and save the rest for later. He always had something to take to bed with him and always had a nice night nest in which to stash his fruit for the night. He was amazing to watch and a complete pleasure to serve.

Pablo left us October 6, 2001. He was 31 years old.

Pablo was one of the most impressive chimpanzees at Fauna. He was intense, loyal, unyielding and incredibly sensitive. He was truly unlike anyone else.

Unlike many chimpanzees who sadly seem to give up, Pablo fought and suffered much because he never gave into the life he had in the lab. While with us in sanctuary, his admirable will earned him the respect of all of us. But, while in the lab, his body paid dearly for his will.

Pablo’s spirit was never broken, but his body was completely destroyed by his years in research. His desperate struggle to never give in, left him with a heart that could not be touched, even if it could so easily be broken.

Pablo loved with all his heart. He played hard and totally enjoyed and embraced his sanctuary life, surrounded by those he loved: Tommy, Yoko, Donna Rae, Pepper, Sue Ellen, Jeannie, Annie, Chance, Petra, Jethro and Binky.

His death was a tragic end for the life of such an amazing, heroic and memorable soul. We will always remember the day Pablo died, and the tremendous emotion we all felt – including his chimpanzee family. His death was sudden and left us all shocked. We grieved not only because of his loss but also because of the reality that he was only in his new sanctuary life for such a short time. We honor Pablo for his courage and commitment to his chimpanzee family in the face of hardships and trials that no one should have to bear. Our comfort comes from knowing that in his new life with us at Fauna, he enjoyed each and every day fully -- embracing life and what it offered him even if for too short a time.