Project Chimps Blog

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!

This World Chimpanzee Day, July 14th, 2019, we invite you to join us in celebrating all things chimp. Largely thanks to Dr. Goodall, we now know that chimpanzees have individual personalities and are extremely capable of rational thought and emotions. How will you celebrate World Chimpanzee Day?

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!

Former research chimpanzee Harriett has a special ability that she shares with some human primates. Learn what it is and how she got her nickname from Chimpanzee Caregiver Supervisor Holly Soubiea.

As a writing major only halfway through Ithaca College, I thought that my possibilities for summer internships were limited to publishing houses, local newspapers, and marketing companies. But, that all changed when I saw a posting for a summer internship at a chimpanzee sanctuary…