Most days I like to share stories that reveal the joyful moments you help bring to the lives of our chimpanzees, each and every day.
But it’s also important to remember where they came from to understand the challenges some of our residents still endure.
Today, I want to tell you about Clay, an amazing chimpanzee and one of our residents with special needs.
Clay was taken from his mother’s arms when he was only 10 hours old. For more than a decade he was locked in a lab, injected with drugs and subjected to invasive surgeries. When we rescued him from the Coulston Foundation, he was living in solitary confinement in a building we called “The Dungeon.”
We were hopeful that Clay would find friends among our other residents but sadly, his years of pain and trauma had made him aggressive towards other chimpanzees. After multiple attempts to introduce him to other chimps, it became clear he couldn’t become a part of a large family group… but that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve all the benefits the other chimps experience living on an island.
Fortunately, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, there is a place for chimps like Clay. It’s our new Special Needs Facility — an area dedicated to providing the chimps with all they need, including six outdoor play yards complete with climbing structures, hammocks, and swings!
Please donate now to help Clay and our other Special Needs residents.
With loving care and treatment, we’ve found Clay is a happy, fun, intelligent and robust chimpanzee. He loves playing with plastic trucks, “dancing”, and visits from his caregivers. He enjoys all the stimulation and attention that all our chimps do, just in a place where he can “be himself.”
Some of the chimpanzees at Save the Chimps are like Clay — they are so traumatized by years in laboratories or roadside zoos that they find it difficult to engage in the normal social interaction that is natural for chimpanzees. Your generosity helps give them the best care we can offer, with specialized facilities just for them, so they can enjoy freedom, fun and recreation for the rest of their lives!
With gratitude,
Molly PolidoroffExecutive Director |
P.S. With your help we can continue towards our $50,000 goal to raise funds in support of the extra care needed by some of our residents. Thank you for your help in caring for Clay, the other chimps with special needs, and all of the individuals in our care. We truly appreciate your kindness and generosity.
savethechimps.org The world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary