Winthrop Niles Kellogg, a comparative psychologist, and his wife welcomed a baby chimp into their home nearly a century ago. They intended to raise the primate alongside their own child, Donald. It did not go well.

Gua, who was born on November 15, 1930, was the first chimp to be used in a cross-rearing study in the United States. She was adopted by the Kelloggs at the age of seven and a half months and raised alongside their 10-month-old son Donald.

The odd experiment, as recounted in The Psychological Record, was designed to determine how a child’s environment influenced his or her development.

The Kellogs began to nurture the chimp and their son as if they were brothers and sisters.

Mr. Kellog was said to have dreamed of carrying out the experiment since he was a student. He was captivated by wild children who had never encountered humans.

The trial lasted 9 months, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. During this time, the couple conducted various tests on Gua and Donald.

Donald’s “blood pressure, memory, body size, scribbling, reflexes, depth perception, vocalization, locomotion, reactions to tickling, strength, manual dexterity, problem-solving, fears, equilibrium, play behavior, climbing, obedience, grasping, language comprehension, attention span, and others,” The Psychological Record author’s noted.

In other words, they were reared in the same manner. Unfortunately, the parents received more than they bargained for when their youngster began to demonstrate ape-like characteristics.

The experiment had to be cancelled because Donald began acting like a chimp, displaying anger, attacking people, and even making chimp-like noises. When he requested more food, he allegedly barked at Gua and began walking on all fours.

The Kellogs suddenly halted the experiment due to the unfavourable results. However, it was too late.

While little is known about the son, it was reported that he committed suicide in 1973 at the age of 43. Gua was returned to the primate centre from whence he had been adopted in Florida. She was the subject of more research there. At the age of three, she died of pneumonia.

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