Hercules

When Hercules was only two, he, along with his groupmate Leo, was leased to a New York lab, where they were forced to walk upright in a study of locomotion. After medical testing was finally banned on chimpanzees and after much media attention about their plight, Hercules and Leo were sent back to the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) and then retired to their forever home here at Project Chimps on March 21, 2018.

His caregivers used to confidently call him the leader of his social group, but as the other males mature, they’ve shown that Hercules might not be the most assertive chimp in the group. He’s still a force to be reckoned with though, and his caregivers always appreciate him for his overwhelmingly sweet nature and love of play. (We suspect he may be more than part cat however, given his love of sitting in cardboard boxes.)