Editing Nim Chimpsky (section)

===Nim's early years===

[[File:Nim Chimpsky.jpg|thumb|Nim washing dishes at the house in Riverdale]]
Nim's life history is detailed in Elizabeth Hess's seminal biography, ''Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human'' (2008), which became the basis for a 2011 documentary film directed by [[James Marsh (director)|James Marsh]], ''[[Project Nim (film)|Project Nim]]'' (see below).

Nim was born at the Institute for Primate Studies in [[Norman, Oklahoma|Norman]], [[Oklahoma]]. A few days after his birth, he was taken from his sedated mother and placed in the [[New York City]] home of Stephanie LaFarge. LaFarge was a former grad student of Terrace's with three children and four stepchildren.<ref>Hess, E. (2008) p. 61 and ch. 3</ref> LaFarge "knew nothing" about chimps and instantly recognized that the arrangement would be a problem.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Linden |first=Eugene |title=Silent Partners: The Legacy of the Ape Language Experiments |publisher=Ballantine Books |year=1987 |isbn=978-0345342348}}</ref> The LaFarge household was unconventional: she breastfed the chimp (though she had no milk)<ref name=":0" /><ref>Hess, E. (2008) pp. 77-78</ref> and smoked pot with him.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Hess. E. (2009) p. 80</ref> Stephanie LaFarge and her daughter Jennie Lee used signs sporadically, focusing instead on play and establishing trust, which they saw as a developmental need. They did not maintain records of Nim's development and did not support the harsh discipline practices that Terrace and his lead trainer at the time demanded. (This included the use of cattle prods<ref>Hess, E (2008) p. 102</ref> and forcing Nim into a small, dark box when he misbehaved.<ref>Terrace, H.S. (1979) p. 58</ref>). By mutual agreement two years later, Nim was moved out of the LaFarge [[brownstone]] and into a large house in [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]], where a grad student, [[Laura-Ann Petitto]], took over as primary caregiver.

After the move to Riverdale, Nim exhibited symptoms of intense anxiety. For the first few weeks, he refused to be alone for even a minute.<ref>Hess, E. (2008) p. 122</ref> When left with a new person, he would rip off his clothes and pee and poop all over the room.<ref>Hess, E. (2008) p. 125</ref> His habit of "sinking his teeth into human flesh"—which started before he was a year old—became both more frequent and more damaging.<ref>Hess, E. (2008) pp. 89-91</ref>

Adding further complication, Terrace became romantically involved with Petitto. (He had also been sexually involved with LaFarge but the relationship ended years before Project Nim.) After he "abruptly" ended the relationship, Petitto quit,<ref name=":1" /> cutting off Nim (again) from his closet companion and maternal figure. Terrace's two other full-timers quit around the same time.<ref>Hess, E. (2008) p. 131</ref> In the wake of these turnovers, Nim's behavior deteriorated further; he became more aggressive and less compliant with sign-language sessions.<ref name=":0" />