Happy Sweet 16, Lisa Marie!
This week Lisa Marie turned sixteen! She was rescued from the entertainment industry at the age of eight, where she was often isolated indoors when she wasn’t being forced to perform. This year marks a turning point as she has now spent as many years in sanctuary as she did in the entertainment industry. For half of her life, she has had the opportunity to experience a more natural life for a chimpanzee, including companionship, freedom, and loving care.
She arrived to Save the Chimps pale, underweight, and exhibiting unnatural behaviors due to her upbringing a limited exposure to chimpanzees. After an initial quarantine period that new chimps at Save the Chimps go through, she was moved from the Special Needs play yards to Kiley’s building.
Watch Lisa Marie making friends with her new family in 2015
She quickly made friends, becoming an integral member of her family. One of her closest friends is Jaybee, an older male who has taken Lisa Marie under his wing, teaching her how to be a true chimp. Jaybee and Lisa Marie have a close bond, playing and eating meals together (sometimes even sharing the same hammock!) Jaybee has even shown Lisa how to carry her blankets on the island as he does.
She spends most of her days on her 3-acre island climbing the large oak trees and climbing structures. Her favorite tree sits near the bank of the island overlooking the neighboring island of Lou’s and the roadway that caregivers pass by on with their golf carts. She’s often seen perched on its highest limbs for the greatest view of these neighboring sights.
She loves to play with her chimp family and her caregivers alike, and she’s become quite the artist, painting murals on her bedroom walls and using crayons to scribble in coloring books. She’s known for her mischievous side, frequently trying to use her smarts to prank her caregivers, like fastening tools out of tree branches to fish squeegees and shovels from the hallways. Lisa Marie is still a young girl, full of energy and sass! Sanctuary life gives her the freedom to be herself.
Ways to Support Lisa Marie
- Become a member of Save the Chimps. As a member, you will receive a coupon code for 10% off a purchase in our online store and the ability to learn about and register for events in advance of the general public. All donations directly support the quality care our residents receive.
- Adopt Lisa Marie. Your $60 symbolic adoption will include a digital custom certificate with a photo and biography, delivered to your email inbox. You will also receive a one-year subscription to the e-newsletter Pant-Hoots to Parents.
- Adopt Kiley’s Family. Symbolically adopt the family Lisa Marie is in, known as Kiley’s Family. Your $400 symbolic adoption will include a digital custom certificate with a photo and biography, delivered to your email inbox. You will also receive a one-year subscription to the e-newsletter Pant-Hoots to Parents.
- Shop in our wishlist store to sponsor items she loves, like blankets or watermelons.