Project Chimps Blog

This past week, we brought an electric piano into several of the villas for the chimps to investigate if they chose to. Some chimps, like twins Buttercup and Charisse, were immediately interested and could not wait to tap out a few notes. Others, like Emma, were more interested in trying to take it apart. And then, there was Luke. Who was simply waiting to show off his hidden musical talent!

As the threat of the Coronavirus continues, Project Chimps’ executive director, Ali Crumpacker, outlines more of the measures we are taking to ensure the short-term and long-term health of the chimps and our Project Chimps family.

Here are some of the things we are doing now, with the caveat that the situation is extremely fluid and that some of these actions may be revised in the days and weeks to come, in keeping with government and industry recommendations.

As the world prepares for a potential Coronavirus pandemic,
so is Project Chimps.

Not only are we preparing for the potential medical threat
of the COVID-19 virus, we are also braced for the potential ripple effects of a pandemic, such as disruptions to food and medical supplies.

Here are some answers to questions about how we’re working to protect the chimps and our sanctuary team.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’re thinking about the chimps who touch our hearts.

In our February 2020 news, Executive Director Ali Crumpacker shares who her “Heart to Heart” chimp is and tells us more about Babs, the newest member of the chimpanzee sponsorship program.

This and much more is included in our February 2020 news!

The day started out routinely, with our team checking on the
chimps, feeding their breakfast and cleaning their enclosures. But then the radios start squawking as the chatter between caregivers becomes an excited cacophony.

The message finally became clear: “Leo is outside!”

Chimpanzee Caregiver Samantha Jones recounts the story of former research chimps Leo and Ray’s brave first steps into the forest at Project Chimps.

Project Chimps sanctuary now hosts a one-day wildlife photography workshop. In the first session, held in Oct. 2019, eight participants get to went behind the scenes to photograph chimpanzees in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.

It was a warm spring morning and Christy Jellets was waste deep in muddy water. The dirty liquid roiled around her as she worked, hands well below the surface and out of sight, to repair a clogged culvert at Project Chimps.

While her team members were busy welding chimpanzee enclosures and clearing fallen brush, Christy noticed a job that needed immediate attention. So she jumped in…

As we swing our way into the second Roaring 20s, we look back at the accomplishments made for captive research chimpanzees in the 2010s.

In 2010, the European Union banned testing on great apes, a full five years before the United States would follow suit, making the U.S. the last country in the so-called “developed world” to end testing on chimpanzees.

Mid-ranking male chimpanzee Maverick went right into the “danger zone” this week as two new males joined his social group of eight. Introducing new males into an existing chimpanzee society can be risky business, all Tom Cruise puns aside, so the chimpanzee care team at Project Chimps created a tactical plan for bringing the males together.

Read about our holiday plans for the 79 former research chimpanzees now living in sanctuary at Project Chimps; see the very first pictures of new arrivals Justin, Maverick and Rocko; get to know sanctuary volunteers Steve Mango and M.L. Daly; and meet the newest member of our Facilities team, Rodney Newberry. It’s all here in our December news.

Read about our holiday plans for the 79 former research chimpanzees now living in sanctuary at Project Chimps; see the very first pictures of new arrivals Justin, Maverick and Rocko; get to know sanctuary volunteers Steve Mango and M.L. Daly; and meet the newest member of our Facilities team, Rodney Newberry. It’s all here in our December news.

We recently finished the construction of The Chateau and invited the chimps to move in. We all held our breath to see what they would think of their new digs…

Project Chimps volunteers Jim and Betty Thurman have created a series of fun and educational chimpanzee-themed games for visiting children.

Forty former research chimpanzees will have a new home in permanent sanctuary as Project Chimps announced the completion of its fifth and largest chimpanzee house, called “The Chateau.” Fourteen former research chimps moved into the new residence, led by 220-pound “gentle giant,” Kareem.

Project Chimps’ facilities team, care staff, and dedicated volunteers have been working tirelessly to make the south yard of the outdoor habitat a fun and enriching place for the former research chimpanzees in our care. Their hard work was worth it – the chimps are thriving outdoors. And they’re having a blast!