Tabby was born on February 14, 2004, and came to Project Chimps from the New Iberia Research Center on November 6, 2019. She was one of 17 chimpanzees in a social group that includes Kirk as alpha of the Chimps Ahoy Villa. After 15 years in a medical research laboratory, Tabby was just shy of her 19th birthday and had lived here at the sanctuary for over three years.
Tabby recently began showing signs of illness, her symptoms included refusing some of her foods and acting lethargic. While at first, she accepted supportive care and medications, she soon began to refuse all foods and juices – in which case she was also refusing to receive any further medication. Our veterinary team anesthetized her on Tuesday to provide her fluids and medications. A complete exam was run at that time and initial diagnostics were negative for everything we could test her for, labs were sent out for further testing.
While the procedure itself had no complications, Tabby had a delayed recovery once removed from anesthesia. Additional IV fluids were provided but two days later, Tabby had still not woken up. During this time, our staff provided round the clock observations and supportive care to keep Tabby as comfortable as possible. But in the late hours of Thursday evening, it was clear that her body was no longer fighting to recover and we made the decision for a humane euthanasia. After her death, it was discovered by the pathologist that she had significant disease in her liver and other associated organs and the lab results, received post-mortem, confirmed that Tabby likely had an underling chronic issue with her liver which was exacerbated by the recent illness.
While chimps can live into their 50s, according to the Lincoln Park Zoo ChimpDATA, the median life expectancy of a chimpanzee in captivity is 32.5 for males and 40.1 for females.
Tabby’s remains will be cremated and planted with a native/fruit tree on the grounds of Project Chimps in a future Remembrance Garden which will be opened for the public to visit in 2024. The memorial site will be marked by a plaque with her name. Donations made in memory of Tabby are welcome and can be made here.
