Many emotions are experienced by the reader upon getting
engrossed in
Save The Chimps’ new memoir of their late leader.
OpeningDoors: Carole Noon and Her Dream to Save the Chimps by Gary Ferguson follows the steps Dr. Carole Noon took to build her
chimpanzee sanctuary. In the process, she unwittingly was building her legacy.
From her primatological beginnings at Zambia’s Chimfunshi
sanctuary, to the moment when she had the realization that she was going to be
responsible for 266 retired lab chimps (in addition to the 28 rescued
chimpanzees already living at Save The Chimps in its early days), Opening
Doors touches upon little moments that,
together, illustrate how massive Dr. Noon’s accomplishments really were.
The reader has it easy; we get to simply read about the
trials and tribulations, and marvel over how it all came together with a little
luck and a lot of sweat. It’s difficult to believe that Dr. Noon actually
accomplished this much in a relatively short period of time, especially because
the path she took to build Save The Chimps was forged by her alone. Nobody had
ever built a sanctuary on this scale before, but she was driven to do it
because she knew that hundreds of chimpanzees were relying on her.
The photographs in Opening Doors are breathtaking, and the intermittent chimpanzee
life stories that accompany the various portraits just may break your heart. At
Save The Chimps, sensitive beings who spent decades in uncomfortable laboratory
cages where they were subjected to painful medical procedures were finally
given the chance at a better life. Instead of dwelling in their misfortune and
succumbing to the emotional turmoil of their past, they were eager to move on
with their lives, forging new families and friendships while feeling grass under
their feet for the first time ever.
I was lucky enough to meet Carole Noon in 2008. She took me on a tour of Save The Chimps. We spoke about the vegetarian lifestyle we both had in common and she showed me the chimpanzee groups. It felt like I was meeting a celebrity. Her intensity intimidated me, although I tried - most likely, unsuccessfully - to hide it. Had Opening Doors existed at the time, its contents could have better prepared me more for the whirlwind that was this woman...maybe.
Dr. Noon’s life was cut short by cancer in 2009. If the
book’s insights are any indication, I would think her humble and practical
nature would be grateful that this book exists, if only because it shows the
emotional resilience and strength not of herself, but of the chimpanzees.
