Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
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Cy and George continue to live together as we move forward with integrating George into Cy’s group. In case you missed it, we have been in the process of day-long introductions with the remaining members of Cy’s group (Gordo, Terry, Rayne, and Lucky have already had theirs) as well as Mave before we continue with building up the group around Cy and George.
In today’s blog video, come along for grooming session with George and Cy!
Monkeys, specifically monkeys who are being used in biomedical research, have been in the news frequently lately.
A few years ago, I wrote about a truck carrying 100 monkeys that overturned in Pennsylvania, spilling crates of primates onto a highway. I would not have guessed then that “escaped lab monkeys” would become almost commonplace in the years following that incident.
Late last year, 43 young female rhesus macaques at Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, South Carolina left their cages and the perimeter fence of the facility when a gate was left open. Some of them survived for months outside, with the last one captured in January.
More recently, on October 28th, a pickup truck pulling a trailer containing 21 crated macaques overturned in rural Mississippi. The initial news reports indicated that no one claimed ownership of these monkeys who were apparently being transported from one facility to another. Finally, almost a week after the crash, PreLabs, LLC released a statement confirming that the monkeys belonged to them.
In that statement, they also cleared up misinformation that had been spread about the health status of the monkeys. Apparently, the county sheriff initially described the monkeys as dangerous and carrying diseases based on what the driver of the truck told him. Citizens took this warning to heart–two of the monkeys were shot and killed when residents spotted them.
I want to first raise the question of whether it’s even appropriate to describe any of these monkeys as “escaped” when their being “loose” was the result of errors or accidents on the part of human beings. Virtually nothing in their lives has been their choice, including ending up on the side of a highway. In a very interesting in-depth New Yorker article focused on the Yemassee Alpha Genesis facility, the author shares the opposite point, characterizing monkeys in captivity as being preoccupied with getting out of the cages they are confined to, so there’s certainly different ways of looking at the volition of the monkeys who end up in the news as escapees.
Though there has been an uptick in these incidents in the last few years, lab monkeys on the loose is not an entirely new phenomenon.
There is a colony of vervet monkeys living freely today in Florida who were genetically traced to monkeys originally from Africa who “escaped” from the Dania Chimpanzee Farm in the 1940s where they were being sold for biomedical and military research.
The recent incidents have shined a light on a the industry using monkeys in invasive research, which is a good thing. People are asking where these monkeys are coming from and how are they being used within these facilities. There have been investigations into how the demand for monkeys in the United States for medical testing has led to the illegal capture of monkeys from the wild. The solution from within the industry to this problem has been a call to increase the breeding of monkeys within the U.S., but the proposed construction of new breeding facilities has thankfully been met with push-back.
Things are changing.
In April, the FDA announced that it will phase out all animal testing for certain drugs and therapies, replacing animal testing with more sophisticated methods. And just last week, the CDC announced it will no longer use monkeys in the research that it conducts.
It’s important to note that the FDA announcement is significant and unprecedented, but still cautious in its approach and it doesn’t equate to the end of animal testing for all drugs.
The CDC announcement appears to impact 200 macaques reportedly currently in use by the CDC. That’s a very small number of monkeys compared to the tens of thousands being used across other government agencies and private institutions, but it is indicative of the shift that is happening.
It’s an open question where these monkeys being used by the CDC would go, though the article states that Peaceable Primate Sanctuary was contacted by the agency and is willing to work on a solution, given enough funding.
As I said back in 2022, we will be providing a home for monkeys in the future, like other sanctuaries are now. And maybe, just maybe, that day when we can all celebrate the last monkeys in biomedical research in the U.S. going to their sanctuary home will come much sooner than I dreamed.
This photo J.B. took today of a rainbow over Jody’s statue seemed to be the perfect visual accompaniment to this news.
I will bet you anything that there’s a rhesus macaque named Jody in a lab right now who was used as a breeder and research subject.
She deserves sixteen years of sanctuary life just like our Jody had.
We’ve all been running around lately with introductions and keeping things moving. So whenever there’s a slow moment, I like to take a breather and visit everyone, just to hang out. This week, I was wandering through the chimp house, hoping to find someone up for some company, when I spotted something strange: a long bamboo stick wedged inside a towel on the tool chest near the playrooms. I could tell right away I’d walked in on something mid-mission—and sure enough, the culprit was Honey B, in the middle of what looked suspiciously like a towel heist. When she saw me, Honey B marched right over, politely (but insistently) demanding the return of her bamboo stick. I handed it back, no questions asked. As a thank you, Honey B insisted on making sure my arm, shoes, and even my radio were spotless—her own version of gratitude.
We continue to make progress in introducing George to Cy’s group. This past week, George spent the day with Lucky (and Cy). As George navigates living with other chimpanzees, he is also learning that sometimes, he might have to share. See today’s blog video to watch how Lucky and George (with help from Cy!) navigated a conflict over their shared love of paper, and how they spent the rest of their day together.
Don’t forget, Willy B’s birthday is just around the corner! He’ll be turning 35, and will be celebrating with as many of his favorite bouncy toys as we can provide him with. If you’d like to purchase a bouncy toy for Willy’s birthday, see our chewy and Amazon wish lists, and look for the Ruff Dawg toys!
Today Mave joined George and Cy for a bit of an awkward introduction… Despite George’s discomfort, it seems like he is learning a lot from Cy’s leadership and that’s all we can ask for right now!
Blankets are great, but have you ever nestled into a giant pile of paper? Cy and George have been obsessed with nesting in giant rolls of paper lately. They love to make their nest with a whole lot of paper and incorporate a few blankets, in front room 7 were they both can see what the humans are up to and catch up on some much needed rest.
Introductions have been going very smoothly, but they can definitely wipe you out! So today Cy and George are taking some well deserved naps before we head into a few more days of introductions for the week!
Cy:
Georgie:
During our introduction process, we try to limit visual access to the other chimpanzees in order to provide the newly introduced group with some privacy and minimize interference from other groups. We’ve added privacy panels to spaces that the chimps have access to, like windows inside chimp spaces, because they are pretty “chimp proof”. But in other spaces that the chimps can’t access, like windows in human areas that look into chimp spaces, we use curtains or kraft paper. When Cy recently moved in with George, we added kraft paper to the window adjacent to the cubby in the mezzanine. As many of you know, the cubby is Honey B’s favorite spot!
Honey B was not on board with the addition of paper on HER window.
A few days ago, when Honey B’s group was hanging out in the mezzanine while we cleaned other spaces, she decided to do something about the offensive paper. Unfortunately, the only tools available in the mezzanine were empty chow bags from breakfast and lunch. Never fear, Honey B persisted and found a much better tool.
Please enjoy today’s 327th episode of Honey B’s hi-jinks!
Do you think Honey B is successful in removing the paper?
