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Posts tagged "chimp"


Chimps Chat; Hounds' Hats

by Evan Jacobs (Subscribe to Evan Jacobs's posts)
Jan 15th 2010 6:00PM Filed Under: Chew on This

Rounding up our favorite animal stories, photos, and videos on the Web each week!

  • sneaky, sneaky hippo
    Sneaky, Sneaky Hippo

    A 4000lb hippo escaped from a zoo in Montenegro. That makes sense, considering how quiet and hard-to-see a hippo is. [via Telegraph.co.uk]

  • chihuahua update
    Chihuahua Update

    The 15 Chihuahuas from last week have all become official New Yorkers. That means they're always in a hurry and they don't like tourists. [via AFP]

  • mmm... chicken
    Mmm... Chicken

    More than ever people are keeping chickens as pets. A TV show called "The Chicken Whisperer" is right around the corner. [via PetMD]

  • monkey convo
    Monkey Convo

    Monkey-talk has been translated. Turns out they don't have that much to say. [via New York Times]

  • dogs in hats
    Dogs in Hats

    We couldn't resist this slideshow of dogs wearing hats. Prepare heart for warming. [via PetSugar]


Inside Chimp Retirement Homes

by Rebecca Quimby (Subscribe to Rebecca Quimby's posts)
May 27th 2009 2:00PM Filed Under: Exotic Pets, Photo Galleries

According to a census conducted by the Primate Rescue Center, it's estimated that there are 235 privately owned chimpanzees in the U.S. The same study, compiled by April Truitt, who runs the Kentucky-based center, found that the owners of about 70 chimps said they would give them up to a good home if they could.

The only option for these animals -- too wild to remain in a home and too domesticated to reside in the wild or even a zoo -- is a chimp sanctuary, also known as a chimp retirement home. Finding a home for a chimp isn't easy (the nation's sanctuaries are nearly full with more than 600 chimpanzees, Truitt recently told the Associated Press). Many sanctuaries have reported an influx of calls following extensive media coverage of Travis, a pet chimp that suddenly attacked Stamford, Conn., resident Charla Nash in mid-February.

But despite the struggles such centers face (most sanctuaries offer opportunities to donate or volunteer -- click here to make a donation to the Primate Rescue Center), chimp retirement homes continue to be safe spaces where domesticated chimps can live out safe and happy existences. We decided to peek inside a few.

Chimp Retirement Homes

    Center for Great Apes
    The Florida non-profit Center for Great Apes opened in 1990 when founder Patti Ragan learned that there was no place in the U.S. for a baby orangutan she'd been caring for -- who because of his background could not be cared for at a zoo or returned to the wild -- to live. The park's tropical forest setting resembles apes' natural habitats (with the addition of a super-fun-looking elevated tunnel and chute system for climbing and playing -- very Ewok village) and there's even a special needs area for handicapped and elderly residents.

    Center for Great Apes

    Chimp Haven
    Located about 20 miles outside of Shreveport, Louisiana, the federally-funded Chimp Haven provides care for hundreds of chimpanzees who have retired from medical research, the entertainment industry or are no longer wanted as pets. This amazing facility is a product of the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection (or Chimp) Act, passed in the final days of the Clinton administration. Its residents have it pretty good -- indoor bedrooms, expansive play yards, forested habitats, TVs and DVD players, banana smoothies...hey, can we retire here, too?

    Chimp Haven

    Save the Chimps
    Save the Chimps was founded as a safe haven for 21 chimps, survivors and descendants of those captured in Africa in the 1950's and used by the Air Force in the original NASA "chimpanaut" program. (They were originally going to be sent to a biomedical laboratory in New Mexico.) In addition to rescuing these chimpanauts, Save the Chimps soon afterwards was able to take over the New Mexico laboratory and rescue the primates housed there as well. Now the chimps luxuriate in a natural environment in Florida, without threat of ever being sent to a lab (or outer space, for that matter).

    Save the Chimps

    Beekse Bergen
    Funded in part by the Dutch government, Beekse Bergen, a safari park that houses over 1500 animals of different species, has in the last few years welcomed chimps rescued from research labs as well. Most of these chimps were captured as babies and confined to small concrete pens while they underwent medical testing. Their new keepers report that it takes them some time to feel comfortable exploring and playing like normal primates.

    --Amy Shearn

    Maartje Blijdenstein, AFP / Getty Images

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The Sad Tale of Travis the Chimp

by Paw Nation Staff (Subscribe to Paw Nation Staff's posts)
Feb 17th 2009 12:51AM Filed Under: Exotic Pets, Pets News
travis chimp chimpanzeeThe sad tale of Travis the chimp gripped the nation when the former animal actor was shot dead by police after critically injuring a 55-year-old visitor to his Connecticut home. His devastated owner, Sandra Herold, was forced to attack Travis with a butcher knife and shovel when the 200-pound primate mauled her friend Charla Nash in her driveway on February 16, 2009.

Connecticut police responding to a frantic 911 call said they set up a security cordon so medics could attend to Nash, but were forced to shoot when an agitated Travis tried to enter a patrol car occupied by one of the officers. Travis, bleeding heavily, reentered the house he shared with Herold and retreated to his living quarters, where he died.

Nash, whose face was severely damaged, required seven hours of surgery by four teams, including hand specialists, plastic surgeons and specialists in orthopedics, ophthalmology and trauma, according to reports.

A shaken Herold described her formerly peaceful domestic life with Travis, who bathed and ate with her, drank wine and even drew her pictures. The 15-year-old chimp had previously appeared in TV commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy, and had been a guest on the "Maury Povich Show." He was locally famous is Stamford, Conn., for riding around in trucks belonging to his owners' towing business.

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