Chris Adams.

Byline: The Nation.

Chris Adams

McClatchy Newspapers

Fort Pierce, Florida

Donovan was born in 1995. One of the earliest entries in his medical file was July 1996, when he was first paired with a female named Sakari as they were being prepared for shipment from the Alamogordo Primate [research] Facility in New Mexico to a separate research facility. "Animals seem to be getting along well," according to his file. But there was one red flag: "Adapts well to peers. Does not adapt well to handlers."

Donovan's research record from 1997 to 2001 shows week after week of bleeds and biopsies. While some chimps can be trained to present their arms for injections, Donovan's chart says he doesn't do that. That usually means chimps are required to go through a "knockdown", shooting them with tranquiliser darts so they can be moved to exam rooms. There, lab workers can draw blood, saliva or other fluids.

It's not often a smooth process. …