In a heartwarming tale of resilience and fellowship, a long-isolated chimpanzee named Vanilla has found solace and acceptance among her primate peers at her new Florida sanctuary. After enduring decades of confinement in a small enclosure, the 29-year-old chimp who was seen in a viral video seeing the sky for the first time, has seamlessly integrated into a group of chimps at Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, according to the New York Post.
"Vanilla, in particular, is super friendly with everybody and has been seen roughhousing with them — as if [she's] been there forever," said Ashley Cooley, a curator at the sanctuary. "For as small and tiny of a chimp as she is, she has a big personality. She doesn't think twice about stealing food from the bigger boys."
Cooley said, "She formed really close bonds with Dwight ... which paved the way for her to get 'in.'" Nonetheless, Vanilla's sister, Shake, who also resides within the group, has displayed a more reserved disposition — observing the group dynamics from a distance.
Vanilla's harrowing past began at New York's notorious Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates, where she endured the grim realities of medical testing and isolation.
But "the biggest gift we give any chimpanzee here is the opportunity to learn how to be chimps ... how to survive within a large social group, which Vanilla is a member of now," Save the Chimps CEO Ana Paula Tavares said.
Born into captivity in 1995, Vanilla spent her early years confined to a cramped 5-by-5 cage, deprived of access to the outdoors and meaningful social connections. The sanctuary serves as a refuge for 226 chimpanzees, many of whom have similarly suffered from the horrors of medical testing, the exotic pet trade, or the entertainment industry.
Save the Chimps continues its vital work, striving to provide a safe and protected retirement for these traumatized chimps, allowing them to live as close to their natural lives as possible.
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