Married animal psychologists Winthrop and Luella Kellogg decided to raise a baby chimpanzee called Gua alongside their ten-month-old son Donald.
At seven months old, Gua was just three months younger than her 'brother', and the Florida-based scientists were interested in seeing whether sharing his upbringing could lead to her developing human behaviours, and even communication skills.
The experiment, which began in 1931, was intended to last for five years, but the Kelloggs had no choice but to pull the plug after just nine months, after seeing the chilling way it had affected young Donald.
Donald's 'sibling' greatly impacted his speech and behaviours (Plainly DIfficult/YouTube)Both babies were raised in the exact same manner, as per the Smithsonian Magazine, sleeping in similar beds, and playing with similar toys. All the while, Winthrop and Luella carried out a series of experiments of the 'siblings'. These included topics such as "blood pressure, memory, body size, scribbling, reflexes, depth perception, vocalization, locomotion, reactions to tickling, strength, manual dexterity, problem solving, fears, equilibrium, play behaviour, climbing, obedience, grasping, language comprehension, attention span, and others."
At first, Gua raced ahead of Donald in most areas, given that chimpanzees develop quicker than humans, and could even respond to phrases such as 'Don't touch!' and 'Get down!', as reported by NPR, but ultimately hit her limits when it came to human speech.
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Psychological Record authors wrote that the Kelloggs' experiment 'probably succeeded better than any study before its time in demonstrating the limitations heredity placed on an organism regardless of environmental opportunities as well as the developmental gains that could be made in enriched environments." While Gua never learned to speak, however, Donald was greatly impacted by her way of communicating.
Gua raced ahead of Donald in a number of development areas (Plainly DIfficult/YouTube)Little Donald began to imitate Gua's grunts and screeches when he wanted more food, and would even mimic Gua's movements, clambering around on all fours as though he was a chimp himself. The Kelloggs reported: "Whenever an orange or other desired food was observed and barked for by Gua. Donald would usually take up this imitative call." It's reported that clever Gua even taught Donald how to spy on people.
Donald's parents also noticed Donald wrestling with his 'sister', biting people, and generally behaving in an animal-like way. The reason behind the abrupt end of the experiment remains mysterious, although it's believed by some that the impact Gua was having on Donald's language development could have been cause for concern.
The experiment ended abruptly (Plainly DIfficult/YouTube)Authors of The Psychological Review expressed concerns at the time surrounding why the experiment ended far sooner than anticipated, writing: "We are told that the study was terminated on March 28, 1932, when Gua was returned to the Orange Park primate colony through a gradual rehabilitating process. But as for why, the Kelloggs, who are so specific on so many other points, leave the reader wondering."
OZY reports that mother Luella had become particularly concerned about Donald's behaviour, believing he was becoming more chimp than human. Another theory is that Gua had become significantly stronger than Donald, and the Kelloggs had begun to fear for their son's safety.
Sadly, after Gua was sent away, she died of pneumonia just one year later, at the age of three. Not much is known about the life of Donald, or the impact the experiment had on him. It is known however that he tragically died by suicide in January 1973, aged just 43, just one year after the deaths of Winthrop and Luella in 1972.
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