New heights to scale

Construction began this week on the chimpanzees new climbing structures on Young’s Hill and they are amazing! You may recall our Share the Chimp Love fundraiser last February, in which we asked you to help us meet our goal of raising $12,000 to go toward the direct care of the chimpanzees, as well as keeping our savings on track to meet our future goals. Thanks to your incredible generosity in helping us not only reach, but surpass (!), our goal, we were also able to meet our goal of building a new structure for the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill.

The sanctuary’s founder, Keith LaChappelle, has been here all week working with J.B. and he brought reinforcements. Long time friend of the chimps, Nick (who travels from out of state each year just to volunteer his time with projects for the chimps), has also been here, along with Josh, John, Bill, and Marc. These guys have been working tirelessly in the heat to get things ready for the chimpanzees to enjoy as soon as possible.

The structure, situated at the very top of Young’s Hill, is the highest yet and comprised of two climbing towers which are connected by an amazing swinging bridge. From the chimp’s view in the greenhouse, this is the left side of the structure:

Here’s the right side:

And the entire structure:

And thanks to the generosity of Provitro Biosciences, we have been gifted with even more beautiful bamboo to add to the chimpanzees outdoor enclosure. Here’s J.B. bringing some in:

I’m not sure who is more excited, the chimpanzees, or the humans in anticipation of seeing the chimpanzees check things out. If all goes as planned, everything should be complete tomorrow and ready for chimpanzee inspection after that. Such an amazing way to end the week as we are all looking forward to our annual gala, Hoot!, this weekend.

The kindness, compassion and love you consistently show the chimpanzees often overwhelms us. We are immensely grateful to you to be in the position to continually improve the chimpanzees’ home and lives with each passing season. To be able to ensure their well being not only in the present, but also in the future, is something we could never fully express our gratitude for. And none of this would be possible without you.

The chimpanzees have spent the day relaxing in the hot greenhouse, keeping a close eye on the activity on the hill. Here are a few photos I caught of Foxie and troll, resting up for their new adventures ahead:

As part of our Share the Love fundraiser, two wonderful and generous families won the naming rights to the chimps’ new structure and they will each be naming the two towers. We will be holding a naming ceremony in the coming weeks and can’t wait to share it with you so stay tuned!