Rhesus monkeys have long been a favorite of researchers, which hasn’t usually been such a good thing for them. The monkees were often subject to brutal conditions, most famously by psychologist Harry Harlow, who isolated their babies in boxes for years at a time to determine precisely what fresh hell this produced in them. By the mid-20th century, the population was decimated in the name of such science, shrinking 90% before conservation efforts and a ban on Indian export cut the adaptable creatures a break.
In a bit of poetic justice, last week the Oregon National Primate Research Center welcomed a lively trio of baby Rhesus macaques: Roko, Hex, and Chimero. The latter got his name because, like the others, that’s what he is, a chimera, developed from the stem cells of between three and six separate embryos. Never been done before with primates.
