Some of you indicated you would like to see more of the photos from my recent visit to Chimp Haven. Here you go!
Chimp Haven is located in the middle of a dense pine forest near Shreveport, Louisiana. It is a sanctuary primarily for retired chimpanzees from medical research facilities. One resident is a former pet and a few are from the entertainment industry. From the above photo you can see that visitors get a pretty good view of the chimps who live on an island surrounded by a small lake; however a camera with a good zoom lens is a plus. Chimps cannot swim due to their high percentage of muscle mass as opposed to fat. They simply sink when they are in water. As a result many of them have a natural fear of water. These prohibitions provide a natural barrier for the primates, allowing them to live without being contained by cages or bars.
Chimp Haven is open to the public only six mornings a year and visitors are treated with being able to watch the chimps participate in a fruit roundup twice during the morning visit. It is absolutely delightful to watch them gathering up the tossed-out apples, bananas, and oranges.
It is also fun to see if you can identify any of the residents by comparing their photos which are placed on these large bulletin boards throughout the facility. A visit to Chimp Haven carries no charge.
The chimps have plenty of toys and are given constant stimulation to help keep them happy and busy. A group of them can spend hours attempting to pry fruit particles from a bucket of of frozen water.
Meet Pierre. He looks like a gruff old guy but supposedly he's a sweetheart and will stand by the lake as long as someone is there to watch him. Pierre recently arrived at Chimp Haven from the New Iberia, Louisiana, research center where 110 chimps have been retired from medical research. Chimp Haven agreed to take these animals and provide them a place to live for the remainder of their lives. Pierre was infected with HIV during his stay in the government medical research laboratory. Chimp Haven is one of the few sanctuaries in the United States which is qualified to care for hepatitis B and HIV-infected animals. These infected animals are separated from the noninfected population.
Dr. Raven Jackson, the on-site veternarian, tells Pierre's story to a group of Chimp Haven visitors.
For more information on this wonderful sanctuary, visit chimphaven.org
16 comments:
How wonderful for these chimpanzees to have a happy life. It is not perfect, but I guess they are happy there especially for the research animals. Research on animals should be abandoned, it is a tragic life for animals. Other, better methods are available today.
These photos look more like some of my own relatives!
Very interesting post. Thank you for sharing.
pieree made me tear up reaing about him... and i am glad you showed us that first photo, so we can see they are not caged. and now i know how they can have monkey island at Silver springs, i wondered why they stayed on the island. also explains why i can float in our pool with no effort and bob sinks like a rock, he can swim like a fish but not float.
Only being open six mornings a year, you would have to plan a visit carefully. I'm so glad they can live out there lives in a more natural environment.
This is a great post, Kathy. What an amazing place. I'm so glad there are places like this.
it pains me to know what we subject animals to for our benefit.
6 mornings a year. nice that they get so much privacy after spending so much time being handled, injected, studied daily.
its nice that they have a place for the poor things to retire too...what an awesome thing to witness...so happy you shared with us...
I think it's great that the facility is open to visitors only a few days a year. That helps let the chimps be...chimps.
I hope all the research organizations who USED these chimps are paying generously for their care and upkeep. It must be a most wonderful group of caretakers who look after these "retirees".
Jo
Oh I loved reading this post! I didn't know that chimps were afraid of water. And it's heartwarming to know that the poor chimps used in medical research have a good home. Thanks for sharing more about this wonderful place!
I am thankful for a place like this. Poor things.
Loved Kate's comment. Nice shots.
Yes! I was one who asked for more! I love watching the parents interact with the baby chimps - closest to human style care of any animal I know. Great shot of the chimp with the tongue sticking out!
These are really wonderful, Kathy!
I especially love the second one. What a sweet face.
What an awesome place that is! So sad about the chimps! Now they have a good place to spend the rest of their lives, and people can come and visit. I( bet they like that!
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