Project Chimps Blog

With our now united group of 6 chimps (Lindsey, Roxy, Kyrstin, Luke, Kirk, and Greg), it was time to bring in the enforcer, Armond. Armond is, well, the bouncer, the tough guy, the one you don’t want to mess with. It was important to get him into the mix and accepted by the small group of females before we add any more.

None of us were expecting it to happen, including Greg! Greg recently turned 40 years old and has never lived with females. What would an older gentleman like him think of the fairer sex when they came together?

Luke hasn’t had enough of the females yet – he wanted a lot more! As the chimps learn what we are up to with the intros, some volunteer to participate and others skedaddle out of the area, content to be last if possible. Luke very firmly insisted that he was going to be at the head of the pack. Our alpha, Captain Kirk, decided to join him.

During howdies, high-ranking female Lindsey wanted to make sure that high-ranking male Luke understood that she was the boss so she tossed some, well, a really nasty handful of debris, at him through the mesh. Luke decided that he couldn’t let that pass but chose a bit of a milder approach and just gave her a good stream of spit.

Cute freckle faced Neal is the youngest chimp in this group of boys – and therefore the most likely to want to play with new friends. As anticipated, he was a bit rowdy when the girls moved into Chimps Ahoy.

Maverick seems to be a real Casanova. But he picked the most unlikely female to woo, in my opinion. Maverick has come a long way since his arrival at Project Chimps last fall. He had a bit of trouble accepting fellow male chimp Justin and needed Kirk (the alpha), Armond (the enforcer) and the sensible…

Nine months into the pandemic, it is clear that Covid-19 will be a factor long-term. That leaves sanctuaries like Project Chimps to make the decision around moving forward safely or remaining at a standstill. We have made the decision to move forward-safely. We continue to watch the bulletins coming to us from the Zoo and…

Search the internet for “chimpanzee life expectancy” and you may read that chimpanzees live 50-60 years in captivity and a little less in the wild, or something to this effect. Now search human life expectancy and you may get lost in the search results as it varies vastly among countries and cultures, but you may find that some humans can expect to live to 100-115 years now!

We have recently partnered with The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) on a new venture called the Chimpanzee SAFE Program. Chimp SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) is a collaborative effort between zoos, sanctuaries and various field partners to raise awareness of the conservation status of chimpanzees while also promoting efforts to fight the extinction of a species that we all love.

Chimpanzees see all the colors that humans see. While the chimpanzees at Project Chimps do not communicate with sign language, we know from other facilities that chimps have signed their recognition of objects, designs, and colors in murals painted in their bedrooms. We have done a few, but now are inviting YOU to participate as well.

A chimp that is playing and having a good time builds excitement levels that reach a certain threshold where it sometimes becomes aggressive behavior. Play then turns into chimps smacking each other. They are so strong that when their hands come down for a smack, they may nick each other. Sometimes a bigger wound can occur – like a fingernail might get pulled off.

It’s no secret that Kareem is a talented leader of his group of 14 chimpanzees, any of his caregivers can testify to that.

As Georgia is opening back up, we are both excited and cautious. We are excited because we have missed our community and look forward to welcoming people back on site to have an opportunity to see the chimps! We are very cautious; however, as first and foremost the health of the chimps, staff, and visitors is important to us. We will continue to monitor CDC guidelines and make adjustments to ensure the safety and health of all chimpanzees and humans involved.

In honor of Earth Day, we bring you a special update about a brand new climbing structure we just installed today in the Peachtree Habitat for the chimps! It is entirely made out of old tires that were headed to the landfill, left-over paint that was going to be discarded, about $25 worth of hardware, and Caregiver Aide Alyssa’s imagination.

We are all trying to find ways to cope with the current changes in our society. We miss our community and we hope that everyone is staying home and taking care of their families and themselves. While you cannot visit Project Chimps right now, you and your family can still be involved and stay connected to the chimps!