Remarkably, because of the special soul that he is, Kareem was somehow able to survive, despite the horrible conditions and unforgivable neglect to which he was subjected at Coulston Foundation. But his journey in research was not over.

Kareem’s story starts with the heart-wrenching fact that, like many chimpanzees who were born in research facilities, he was pulled from his mother at just a few days old. It’s difficult to think about the devastation that Kareem’s mother must have endured when her baby was pulled from her loving arms. Caregivers swaddled him in diapers and placed him in the lab’s chimpanzee nursery.

Kareem was only 5 years old and living at the now-closed Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) in New York City. It was 1994 and a compassionate caregiver named Nancy was trying to lure Kareem back into his small cage after a day of innocent play in the lab’s nursery playroom. Kareem was tired of going back into a tiny cage each time his play sessions were over, so he held back.

Read about our major step forward in chimpanzee introductions and meet German landscape architecture student Jan Schoepe. Jan’s on loan to Project Chimps by the design team that’s helping us plan our planned Phase Two expansion.

Male and female research chimpanzees, once separated in the lab, are reunited in the Project Chimps sanctuary in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Jan Schoepe is helping to design Project Chimps expanding chimpanzee habitats as an intern on loan from Zoo Design Inc. He is a landscape architecture student from Cologne, Germany.

Celebrity supporters and people from around the world showed their love and support for former research chimpanzees on #GivingTuesday 2018 by donating to Project Chimps.

Alex spent his adolescent years confined in a small, metal cage with no room to roam. Now, after 34 years in multiple medical research laboratories, the former research chimpanzee will have six acres of forest to explore as the newest resident of the Project Chimps sanctuary.  Thanks to a cooperative agreement with the University of Louisiana’s New Iberia Research Center (NIRC), Alex and…

Chimpanzee caregivers Joseph and Brooke are getting the transport trailer ready for…Group Seven! The Project Chimps transport trailer can accommodate up to ten former research chimpanzees in individual carriers for the one-time journey from the lab in Louisiana to their forever sanctuary home here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In a few days, we’re going…

After 28 years in a research laboratory, Precious the chimpanzee had her first opportunity to step out into a forest now that she lives at the Project Chimps sanctuary. A cloudy sky didn’t dampen the spirits or enthusiasm of Precious and her nine female group mates as they had their first opportunity to step out…

Project Chimps will hold a special, two-day “Chimp or Treat” open house for local families on Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27, in Morganton. Children are invited to “Chimp or Treat” in costume, tour the sanctuary – which is now home to 49 former research chimpanzees – and take home candy and fun treats.…

In the lab, the research chimpanzees were separated into artificial same-sex social groups. Now that they’re in sanctuary, we’re working to introduce males and females to form mixed-sex social groups. Learn more about our chimpanzee socialization program in our September 2018 update and see how the 10 female #newchimps are settling into their new life…

After 28 years in a lab, “Precious,” a female research chimpanzee with chronic kidney disease, reached permanent retirement in a forested sanctuary in the Blue Ridge Mountains yesterday. There, she will live the remainder of her life with the opportunity to climb trees in a forest, forage under an open sky and, eventually, choose her…

“On a sunny Tuesday in May, 11-year-old Hercules made a brave move and ventured outside alone. He moved slowly at first, looking at the ground and shaking his head before walking across 2 acres of forest to observe the sights and sounds around him. Not far behind him was Leo, also 11, who ran forward…

On World Photography Day, we asked our talented chimpanzee caregiver and photographer, Crystal Alba, to talk about how she photographs the residents of Project Chimps. Crystal’s images include candid, intimate portraits of the chimps that help us connect with our friends and followers, allowing them to peek behind the scenes at the sanctuary. Here, Crystal…