Project Chimps Blog

Finding a “home away from home” in Georgia’s beautiful Blue Ridge mountains may seem too good to be true, especially with the added difficulty of traveling to a completely different country! However, it’s exactly what Hannah St John-Mosse discovered after traveling more than 4,000 miles to arrive at what she calls a “once in a lifetime opportunity” interning abroad here at Project Chimps.

Did you know that chimpanzees aren’t the only animals we take care of at Project Chimps? It’s true! Chimps love honey, and with 96 retired research chimps living with us, we go through a lot of it. 

It’s officially spring in Blue Ridge, and with the warmer season comes a lot of excitement for our chimpanzee residents! They love playing in the snow during winter, but spring is a perfect time for them to enjoy the sunshine. 

Philanthropy is often the gift that gives back, and Laurie reflects on the far-reaching impacts that her generosity has had on charities like Project Chimps over the years.

Cover Image of a chimpanzee photographed by Steve Morello. Sourced from WWF. By Marissa Pena It goes without saying that we care about chimpanzee welfare here at Project Chimps! As longtime readers are aware, our mission has always been to provide exemplary lifelong care for former research chimpanzees. But with so many chimps in sanctuary,…

If this question surprises you, you’re not alone! Longtime chimp-enthusiasts and animal advocates alike are no doubt immediately skeptical of the idea, and for good reason. But for new learners? Renting a chimp might sound like a great way to meet our closest relatives, especially if they have good intentions. Unfortunately, this is far from…

As our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and humans share a lot of similarities. We both show our emotions through facial expressions, have strong problem-solving capabilities, and cheer each other up when we’re upset. But did you know that we see color similarly as well?

Project Chimps recently shared the sad news of two deaths of chimpanzees at its sanctuary in Morganton, Georgia. The organization fears there may be more deaths to follow as the cause is now known to be the bacteria Yersinia. Executive Director Ali Crumpacker reports: “My team has been under a tremendous amount of stress to…

I had lived on a boat for a year. I was tired of the nomad life and was in search of a change of pace. Looking for scenery that would compete with my native Pacific Northwest, I landed in the North Georgia Mountains at the end of 2021. I landed just outside of Blue Ridge, Georgia. The North Georgia Mountains is home to great hiking, including the Appalachian Trail and the Benton MacKaye Trail. It is also known for Brasstown Bald and white-water rafting on the Ocoee River where the Olympics were held in 1996. Hiking, fishing, hunting, and outdoor adventure sports are the thing here.

In search of work, I came across an ad for Project Chimps, just down the road from me. There, I discovered an amazing training ground for more hard-core hiking on the Chimp Trails. Here is my account, over the timespan of a year, of exploring the trails at Project Chimps in preparation for doing more hikes this area is known for!

By Gregory Rodriguez We recently helped Paul with an infected tooth that required specific dental tools. Paul is the smallest of his group and is among the lowest ranking. We know that sometimes low-ranking means being overlooked, but not at Project Chimps. Earlier in October our caregivers noticed that Paul wasn’t eating, he’s a chimp…

Drama seems to follow Jason. He is currently at work sorting out becoming the new alpha’s right-hand. Jason was a part of Stirlene’s efforts to usurp the current alpha in the group, Bo.

Recently Ray cut his lower lip; we don’t know how he did it but he presented the injury to staff. Which got us curious about just how long chimps could heal versus humans.

After spending 4 months at Project Chimps, James Haworth is proof that internships at any age have value.

As I spoke with Holly about her current aspirations, I had an opportunity to see who Holly is outside of work. Considering her background in film, I asked her who some of her favorite directors are. Her tastes are as weird as it gets! She revealed to me she is super into both Quentin Tarantino, and David Lynch. One of her more recent favorite films is titled “Cloud Atlas”.

How much fun can you really have by donating your time to us? One of our volunteers, Catherine Dunlap, had a moment to discuss our “Enrichment Parties”; a volunteer event held that is part social gathering and part volunteer work!