FORT PIERCE, Florida — A group of chimpanzees shared an emotional hug caught on camera after arriving at a Florida sanctuary this week. Save the Chimps, which was granted custody of the four apes by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Chimpanzees Anna, April, Lucy, and Cash made their way from Vinton County, Ohio to Florida in a caravan staffed by sanctuary workers. The four, ranging in age from 13-26, had been confined indoors by their former owner, an exotic animal keeper recently sentenced to prison for embezzlement. They are adjusting well to their large outdoor enclosures, where they will remain in quarantine for two months, caretakers reported. Save the Chimps’ Director of Chimpanzee Behavior and Care, Dr. Andrew Halloran, met the chimps in Ohio to assess how well they would integrate into one of the sanctuary’s twelve chimp islands.
“These are extremely intelligent chimpanzees who deserve the chance to explore a larger world,” says Halloran. “We look forward to seeing them thrive on a vast island habitat with 15-20 new lifelong companions, with the freedom to choose where they want to be and who they want to be with.”
Save the Chimps is home to over 220 chimpanzees retired from laboratories or rescued from the entertainment industry, the pet trade, and roadside zoos. The 150-acre refuge is one of the largest chimpanzee sanctuaries in the world and provides residents with sophisticated vet care, nutritious meals, and a variety of enrichment programs.
To help offset costs for the rescue and care for the new chimps from Ohio, an anonymous donor is matching all donations made to Save the Chimps through July 31. Tax-deductible donations are welcomed at savethechimps.org/donate.