Status: 16/08/2023, 13:14 p.m.
By: Sophie Kluß
CommentsShare
The 28-year-old chimpanzee Vanilla has seen the sky for the first time in her life. As a laboratory animal in a medical laboratory, she had previously only known life in captivity.
Somewhat anxiously, she looks up, then lets herself fall into the loving arms of her fellow Dwight and finally presses herself tightly against him – as if she wants to recharge her batteries for what is about to happen to her. Having landed safely, chimpanzee Vanilla finally looks up in disbelief. For the elderly primate lady, it must have been the most beautiful experience in her entire life so far: After 28 years in captivity, she was finally allowed to see the sky.
Life in captivity: chimpanzee Vanilla knew nothing else
Vanilla had to spend the first years of her life without daylight and locked in a tiny cage in the "Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates" (LEMSIP) in Tuxedo, New York. After being born in captivity, she was immediately separated from her mother and had to spend her childhood in cruel conditions. The relocation to a Californian sanctuary also improved the situation for the great ape only to a limited extent. Although Vanilla lived here together with conspecifics, the female chimpanzee was far from being kept in a species-appropriate manner there: Without an outdoor enclosure with grass, instead in a cage with earth and concrete floors, surrounded by chain-link fences, Vanilla eked out a desolate existence here as well.
You can find even more exciting animal topics in Landtiere.de's free partner newsletter, which you can subscribe to right here.
It was only thanks to "Save the Chimps", one of the largest chimpanzee sanctuaries in the world, that the life of the brave chimpanzee changed for the better. Vanilla is now allowed to spend the rest of her life on the huge grounds in Florida – and marvel at the celestial vault above her for the first time ever. A video, recorded and published by "Save the Chimps", captured the magical moment. All over the world, the media had reported on Vanilla's story and her new discovery – and thus touched the hearts of numerous people. The animal welfare organization's YouTube video has already received more than 1.2 million views.
Animal welfare organization "Save the Chimps"
"Save the Chimps" is one of the largest chimpanzee sanctuaries in the world. It provides refuge and loving care to chimpanzees in need. "Save the Chimps" cares for chimpanzees that have been rescued from research laboratories, the pet trade and the entertainment industry, usually throughout their lives.
Chimpanzee lady Vanilla sees sky above her – for the first time
It's not just the sky that the astonished chimpanzee sees for the first time. Grass is also new to her. In the video you can see how she touches it for the first time in her life. In an interview with the New York Post, Dan Mathews, director of events and special projects at the rescue center, recounts Vanilla's special first minutes in her new home: "She's obviously overjoyed that she's suddenly free."
0
Also Read
Cows are social creatures: rescued cow with calves can't stop kissing her savior
READ
Encounter with Wolf: Running away, attracting, showing fear and what else to avoid
READ
"A child remains a child, no matter what form it takes": Bambi has fun in paddling pools
READ
What does he want? Donkey comes to a family's window in the morning
READ
Cat with language talent calls dog back into the house - and with success
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
After a year in the sanctuary, which she had to spend in quarantine, the initially frightened primate lady was recently allowed outdoors for the first time in her 28 years of life. As Mathews recounts, Vanilla wasn't sure at first if she even wanted to go outside. But then a fellow dog came to her aid: "Dwight, the alpha male responsible for the chimpanzees, lured them outside with open arms. In the video, you can see her going into his arms and hugging him," says the event director.
Hesitantly, Vanilla starts her exploration tour through the enclosure. Encouraged by her roommates, she enters the meadow shortly afterwards and can finally enjoy her well-deserved freedom. In the sanctuary there are extensive islands for the 12 chimpanzee families, which are washed by streams, as well as all kinds of playground equipment - and the sky. "It's a joy to see them enjoy the company and the freedom that life in the refuge under the blue sky gives them, which they deserve from the beginning," says Dan Mathews of the rescued primates.
"Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates" (LEMSIP) in Tuxedo, New York
In the U.S. laboratory, research on chimpanzees was carried out under cruel conditions. Save the Chimps event director Dan Mathews told the New York Post: "It was a horrible lab that animal rights activists protested against for decades." The well-known primatologist Jane Goodall had described it as a hellhole and wanted to take action against it. "The chimpanzees there watched TV, never saw the light of day."
Because the experiments had been difficult, the mothers had to be separated from their offspring. Mathews knows about the cruel research methods: "Vanilla was one of the last animals that could have been tested. Researchers took blood, performed biopsies. They infected the chimpanzees with various diseases, but I don't know if vanilla was infected as well." The chimpanzees had to spend their days in the cages under terrible conditions: "The animals with a strong sense of smell were forced to eat and sleep through feces."
A request from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase better cages was not complied with by the company for financial reasons. "As a result, the lab was closed and more than 100 chimpanzees had to be relocated," Mathews said.
Blue skies as far as the eye can see – forever in the home
One of Vanilla's favorite things to do, according to Save the Chimps, is exploring and figuring things out. The animal welfare organization describes her personality as "independent, curious and intelligent." Finally, the tormented chimpanzee is allowed to enjoy her retirement in the greatest possible freedom. She is said to have already settled in well, often soaking up the sun and taking a liking to rope swinging.
Dan Mathews reveals: "She seems thrilled to have a world of her own. Finally, what comes closest to a natural habitat. She loves it." In the chimpanzee reserve, Vanilla can now look at the blue sky above her for as long as she wants. Or as "Save the Chimps" writes on the homepage: "From now on, nothing but blue skies." According to Mathews, Vanilla has enough time to enjoy her life from now on: According to the employee, she still has 30 to 40 years ahead of her in her new home.