Lab Chimps Get A New Home in Georgia

BLUE RIDGE, GA — Tucked in the mountains of north Georgia, the town of Blue Ridge got nine new residents last week.

Jennifer, Charisse, Buttercup, Latricia, Samira, Gertrude, Emma, Genesis and Gracie became the first of what could be as many as 300 chimpanzees starting a whole new life with Project Chimps.

The organization is a nonprofit that owns a 236-acre sanctuary in a forested area around Blue Ridge.

Project Chimps is made up of primate experts and other animal-care professionals who are working toward what they call unprecedented advances in the way captive primates are treated.

Last week's move-in marked the first phase of retiring 220 chimps that had previously been used for research at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

It signals a growing awareness that the conditions under which chimpanzees have historically been used for research are unacceptable, the organization says.

"We’re making history here," said Sarah Baeckler Davis, president and CEO of Project Chimps, in a news release. "We’re thrilled to partner with (the university) on this retirement of so many chimpanzees. It’s an unprecedented collaboration and a momentous occasion for chimpanzees."

The university's New Iberia Research Center retired the chimpanzees from research last year. The university is helping fund their care at Project Chimps.

"Project Chimps is the appropriate partner for our chimpanzees," said Ramesh Kolluru, vice president of research at UL-Lafayette. "We share many values. I believe that for the rest of their lives, our chimpanzees will be provided with the high-quality care they’ve been accustomed to at NIRC."

Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service changed the status of all chimpanzees from "endangered" to "threatened." That opened up new protections for captive chimps.

On the heels of that move, the National Institutes of Health officially ended its use of chimpanzees in medical research.

Move-in day for the original nine happened on Wednesday.

The chimps made the 600-mile trek from Louisiana to Georgia overnight, in a custom-built trailer.

Their arrival, around lunchtime, was an emotional moment, Baeckler Davis wrote on the Project Chimps website.

"I choked back tears and raced to hug all the humans getting off the truck … thinking about what went into this day, and what an amazing team we have here at Project Chimps," she said. "No words would do justice to this part."

After an hours-long process of rolling cages off the trailer and into a secure building, most of the chimps hopped right out, eager to check out their new home. Genesis, however, took her time, Baeckler Davis said, clutching a blanket and thinking things over before moving in.

Once the chimps were accustomed to the indoor facility, they were ushered outside to their "party porch."

Now, as they await the time for their second group to arrive, Project Chimps is focusing on fundraising.

Currently, the Blue Ridge site — which was once a sanctuary for gorillas — is set up to house about 80 chimps. They plan to build it up to house 300.

"We are vigorously continuing our fundraising efforts following the announcement of our agreement," Baeckler Davis said. "We are working to secure significant support from the public, which will ensure the expeditious resettlement of the chimps to their new retirement community within a spacious sanctuary. Anyone can help bring these chimps to their new home."

Photos courtesy Project Chimps