Knuckles

The Cow’s been pretty quiet lately…

I’ve been learning a little about cerebral palsy 

hands on learning… 

I know a bit more about it now, 

not necessarily the medical terminology 

but the impact it has on a little body.

So, when I heard about ‘Knuckles’, 

I was immediately curious.  

Why? Knuckles is a chimpanzee… 

a chimpanzee with cerebral palsy!

Knuckles lives at the 

Centre for Great Apes (in Florida)

after an entertainment group he had been with,

no longer wanted him. 

He was two when he arrived. 

It seemed that Knuckles had cerebral palsy. 

At the time of his birth, 

he suffered from a lack of oxygen. 

He had poor muscle control 

and was especially weak on the left side.

 He also had a lazy eye 

and didn’t appear able to focus on objects.

 At two, Knuckles should have been

 swinging from the trees, 

but he could not climb 

and had difficulty with walking.

He also had trouble feeding 

and needed help to eat. 

Hardly surprising, early testing 

pointed to a grim future,

with almost no expectations 

for improvements in Knuckles’ ability.

 And yet, steady progress was made. 

Volunteers gave Knuckles 

some extra time and 

occupational and physical therapists 

also worked with Knuckles. 

Now, Knuckles feeds himself… 

he climbs up and down steps… 

and uses swings to hang upside down.

 Sometimes, he joins 

the other chimpanzees in running games.

 Knuckles is very aware 

of his surroundings 

and loves being tickled. 

He is also very affectionate. 

Had Knuckles been born into the wild, 

I guess he would have 

slowly starved or been 

an easy target to another animal. 

But, he was taken in and loved. 

He was recognised as having cerebral palsy

 and his therapy and efforts have paid off.

Being that we are so closely related to apes,

 I guess its no surprise that they too, 

may have cerebral palsy.

Go to the Centre for Great Apes  

to find out more.

There are more pictures at the site, too.