Hello, my name is
Ernesta

About Me

I was rescued from a biomedical research laboratory and sent to the Wildlife Waystation, a now-closed refuge in California. In 2004 I surprised everyone at the Waystation when I gave birth to my daughter, Magic as a result of a failed vasectomy in Jeff. Although I did not have the opportunity to be raised by my own mother, I’m a loving a devoted mom to Magic. In 2019, the Wildlife Waystation closed causing nearly 480 animals to need to be re-homed, including 42 chimpanzees. I was among the final seven to be re-homed and my family and I made the cross-country trip to Florida in a FedEx airplane to Orlando, FL. Then Pero Family Farms generously drove us to the sanctuary in a climate-controlled truck.

When the door opened to my new home, I immediately started making a nest in the hay, a sign that I was comfortable with my new surroundings. My family and I started swinging across the expansive play yard as we explored our new home. We enjoy sitting in the upper levels of the yard together, grooming in the sunshine. After a quarantine, which is standard for any new arrivals to Save the Chimps, we will have the opportunity to make new friends with the goal to join one of the chimpanzee families who live on the 3-acre islands at Save the Chimps!