Gallery: A Second Life for Retired Lab Chimps
01welcome-to-chimp-haven
SHREVEPORT, La. — Drive up a certain gravel road southwest of Shreveport, Louisiana and you will hear a primally powerful sound echoing through the trees: hoots and calls from a colony of chimpanzees, humanity's closest living relative. Read More:[](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/chimps-hepatitis-c/) [Hep C: The Last Chimpanzee Research Battleground](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/chimps-hepatitis-c/)[](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/chimpanzee-breeding/) [Leading U.S. Lab Accused of Illegal Chimp Breeding](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/chimpanzee-breeding/)[](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/chimpanzee-vocalizations/) [Real Chimp Sounds of *Rise of the Planet of the Apes*](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/chimpanzee-vocalizations/)They live in [Chimp Haven](http://www.chimphaven.org/), a forested 200-acre complex opened in 2005 and now home to more than 100 chimpanzees. Some come from roadside zoos and ill-advised pet owners; many were used in medical research, where they spent decades in often-traumatic captivity. Whether and how chimpanzees should be used in research [is a controversial moral question](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/11/chimps-hepatitis-c/), but Chimp Haven represents an ethical common ground about what should happen when research is finished. Somebody should take care of the chimps. Under the [CHIMP Act](http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusfdpl106_551.htm), passed by Congress in 2000, every chimpanzee used in government research is guaranteed that care. Chimp Haven, which runs on funding from the National Institutes of Health and private citizens, provides it — and more may soon be needed. A controversy over retired chimpanzees [nearly returned to laboratory life](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/us/02chimps.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1321032621-XAjKhOpvwPRN8As2apvVyQ) pushed research into the national spotlight. The [Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act](http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h1513/show), which would ban medical research on chimpanzees, has bipartisan support in Congress. Many scientists have joined activists in [calling for an end to medical experiments](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ban-chimp-testing) on chimpanzees, and the Institutes of Medicine — scientific advisers to the United States — may soon declare that using chimps isn't necessary to fight disease. Should that research end, more than 1,000 chimpanzees now in U.S. laboratories will need new homes. Wired Science visited Chimp Haven to see how that might be done. [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/Aerial-View2-Chimp-Haven.jpg) *Images: 1) A chimpanzee named Agnes. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6329604681/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com) 2) Aerial view of Chimp Haven. (Amy Fultz/Chimp Haven)*
02a-new-beginning
A New Beginning --------------- Just as wild chimpanzees live in groups, so do those at Chimp Haven. Arranging each group's composition as new chimps arrive is a delicate task; chimps are [sometimes traumatized by their previous experiences](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0019855), and like any smart, social creature they have personal preferences and quirks. "For every animal that comes in, there's a little bit of luck, a little bit of guessing," said Kathleen Taylor, Chimp Haven's colony manager. "We try to use as much information as we have available. If chimps are coming from a laboratory environment, we get background information: what they like, who they've been with, what group size they've been with, whether they like being with males or females. We look at how they were raised. Some were born in captivity but not raised by their mothers; they were raised by people in a nursery. They're at the biggest disadvantage, because they missed critical periods of time early in their life. Nursery-reared chimps usually have a more difficult time with complicated social interactions." Chimp Haven's credo, said Taylor, is to never hold a chimp's background against it. "We've got chimpanzees they said could never be socialized, could never go into a group. And we've never seen that at all," she said. *Image: Merv, one of the nursery-raised chimpanzees. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6330378848/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com)*
03the-forest
The Forest ---------- The chimps at Chimp Haven are free to wander between a semi-enclosed home base and several acres of Louisiana scrub pine. While most prefer to sleep indoors, they still patrol their forests every day. "Early in the morning, the chimps come and patrol. In the middle of the afternoon, the females go to the forest in what we refer to as the 'tea party,'" said Taylor. "They go into the forest and nest, just like in the wild." For chimpanzees that previously spent years or decades in cages indoors, sometimes with no close social contact beyond a human caregiver, this represents a radically different life. "The best picture you can get around here is a chimp walking away from you and going into the woods with other chimpanzees. That blows me away," Taylor said. [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/chimps-forest.jpg) *Images: 1) Tracy. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6329616157/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com) 2) Tracy and her group on patrol. (Brandon Keim/Wired.com)*
04raised-in-a-retirement-home
Raised in a Retirement Home --------------------------- Chimpanzees arrive at Chimp Haven as adults — with one exception. In 2007, a 42-year-old chimp named Teresa became pregnant after a vasectomy failed in Conan, a male in her group. Chimp Haven's staff named their daughter Tracy, and she's grown up with the indulgence granted to a child in a retirement home. "She's spoiled rotten," said Amy Fultz, Chimp Haven's behavioral program director. In January, Teresa died. "Tracy changed some of her play behaviors. She spent more time inside. The group responded by increasing their friendly behaviors towards her. Suzanna was one of her mom's friends, and she kind of took over and adopted her. But Tracy's pretty independent. She gets away with murder. Half the time she's trying to get those old guys to play, and they're just trying to sleep and rest," Fultz said. *Image: Tracy (top) and Sara. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6329627997/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com)*
05getting-along
Getting Along ------------- When researchers say chimpanzees are highly social creatures, they don't simply mean that chimps enjoy company. "There are nuances of behavior. Chimps are really good at alliance building — and breaking," said Taylor. "Things change a lot, especially with the males. Sometimes the girls, too, but the guys are really political. They're always trying to think about what's going to do best for them. The number-two ranking guy may always be friends with number-one, may always support him. Put some other chimps in there, and suddenly he's thinking, 'This new guy is big. If I could be friends with him, we could overthrow number-one.' And you see it right there. It's amazing to see the social dynamics play out in front of you." Often this results in disagreements and confrontation, "but chimpanzees have a huge need to reconcile with each other. They don't go to bed with a grudge. What we always watch out for are the making-up points. Screaming, running by, smacking each other and showing signs of aggression are pretty normal for chimps. They're aggressive animals. What's important is that you see the conclusion of it. Sometimes nothing happens, and people might say, 'They're doing fine.' And we're like, 'They haven't even looked at each other. It's not fine!' Until they've recognized each other, the problem's not over. But they don't hold it against each other, this shifting stuff. They still have friends. But they definitely use each other." Females are more likely than males to form steady, long-lasting friendships, but males do have friends. Pictured below is Juan, who two years ago needed surgery for a broken leg; his male companion, Gay, refused to leave him when the caregivers came. [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/juan.jpg) *Images: 1) Ginger and Magnum. (Amy Fultz/Chimp Haven) 2) Juan. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6330376274/)/Wired.com)*
06getting-older
Getting Older ------------- In the wild, chimpanzees have an average lifespan of about 30 years. In captivity they can live twice as long. Chimp Haven's residents often arrive after finishing long research careers, and are prone to the same age-related diseases and conditions as humans. Caring for them is similar in many ways to caring for our own elderly. The oldest chimp at Chimp Haven is Grandma, who was born in 1953 to two of the [first 100 chimpanzees](http://first100chimps.wesleyan.edu/) used in U.S. research. Sarah, pictured below eating a Flavor Ice treat, is 49 years old; she was a star of cognitive research at Ohio State University and the University of Pennsylvania, where she [demonstrated the ability to learn grammar](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/The_Mind_of_an_Ape). [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/sarah_flavorice.jpg) *Images: 1) A can of Ensure, a nutritional supplement given to the chimpanzees. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6329621973/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com) 2) Sarah. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6330375206/)/Wired.com)*
07having-fun
Having Fun ---------- It's difficult to duplicate in captivity the cognitive challenges of life in the wild, where chimps live in larger, more complex groups and forage for food. But Chimp Haven's staff does its best, filling the chimps' days with enrichment activities designed to keep them intellectually invigorated. Some activities, like recovering fruits from plastic puzzle-toys, mimic natural challenges. Others are more improvised. "There's bubble-blowing. And movies and chalk and painting. People will wear masks for the chimps. We'll play the piano," said Fultz. "Would they watch TV in the wild? No. Some of them like it, some of them could care less, and some get mad. One day there was some type of shark show on and some of the chimps were spitting at the TV because they didn't like the sharks. Which is strange, because chimps wouldn't typically know what sharks are. But they didn't like the sharks. One of the new chimps is nicknamed Doc, and apparently he likes to watch shows with a medical theme." Fultz said entertainment has also included singers, marching bands and a single appearance by a belly-dancer. "She got a rise out of the audience," said Fultz. [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/entertainment.jpg) *Images: 1) Hamlet with a plastic barrel. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6330352870/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com) 2) Some of the chimps' toys. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6330374206/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com)*
08chimpanzee-art
Chimpanzee Art? --------------- Among the entertainments provided to the chimps are painting supplies, making them part of an ongoing artistic tradition and debate: Are works produced by chimpanzees truly art? Some critics say [chimps don't truly paint with purpose](http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/ape_artists_of_the_1950s/); others [have been swayed](http://www.artistsezine.com/WhyChimp.htm). "You have to show intent. You have to choose a tool. You have to choose your colors. If you stick your dog's paws in paint and let them run around the floor, that's not art. It's happenstance," said Chimp Haven communications director Karen Allen. "But we give these chimpanzees a canvas, and they do what they're going to do. They pick their colors, they pick their tools. There's usually some sort of symmetry. There's always white space. It's really interesting to see how they do all this." [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/art2.jpg) *Images: 1) [Brandon Keim/Wired.com](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6330389610/) 2) Amy Fultz/Chimp Haven*
09bob-barker-guardian-angel
Bob Barker to the Rescue ------------------------ Chimp Haven's newest residents were part of a group kept at the Wild Animal Orphanage, a Texas sanctuary that closed in 2010 and housed 17 former research chimpanzees. New homes were found for 12, but five [had been infected with HIV and hepatitis C](http://www.releasechimps.org/labs/labs-closed/lemsip/#axzz1dL5FEFeS) and needed specialized care that only Chimp Haven could provide. Secure housing, trained staff, food and medication are expensive, however, and Chimp Haven didn't have the funds. A year passed before Bob Barker, the former host of *The Price is Right* and an animal rights activist, called and offered to pay for one year's care and half the costs of building a new home for the infected chimps. They arrived in September. "They had been together a long time ago. Then, at this sanctuary, because of how it was set up, it made more sense to have them in two groups. So they were kept in a group of three and a group of two," said Linda Brent, Chimp Haven's director. "They had been across the aisle from each, looking at each other for 10 years. They started playing right away." *Image: Doc and Murphy, two of the new chimpanzees. (Amy Fultz/Chimp Haven)*
10henry
Henry ----- [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/henry_houston_cage1.jpg)Chimp Haven's staff has an extra-soft spot for Henry, a 25-year-old chimp who arrived after being rescued from a filthy cage in a Houston garage where, after growing up in a drive-through safari park, he'd been kept for 15 years. Henry was emaciated and malnourished, having subsisted largely on soda and junk food pushed through the bars of his cage. After so much isolation, the staff wondered if he'd ever recover, much less socialize normally. He did. Henry became his group's dominant male, a peacemaker and negotiator — "It's not all brawn; they have to be politically savvy, break up fights and please the ladies," said Taylor — and only a slight hunch betrays his past. *Images: 1) Henry at home. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6329634909/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com) 2) Henry's cage in Houston. (Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals/Chimp Haven)*
11where-theres-a-stick
Where There's a Stick ... ------------------------- Fultz often finds tools discarded in the forest. These include a stick used to spear a snake (above) and a collection of sticks (below) specialized for digging holes or fishing for ants. For the latter task, the chimps use a particular shrub with square-shaped stems, possibly because the larger surface area holds more insects. [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/ant_fishing.jpg) [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/11/hole_digging.jpg) *Images: 1) The snake-spearing stick. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6329637513/)/Wired.com) 2) Ant-fishing tools. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6330381230/in/set-72157628093089294//)/Wired.com)* 3) Hole-digging tools. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6329632717/in/set-72157628093089294/)/Wired.com)
12help-from-friends
Help From Friends ----------------- Many of Chimp Haven's toys — such as the stuffed apes that Grandma, their oldest chimpanzee, likes to carry — are donated by citizens, who provide essential support at a cash-strapped time. "Especially right now, in our economy, it can be hard for people to understand the importance of doing this," said Allen. "But you'd be amazed at the number of people who send money every month who are elderly, who are on fixed incomes. They make sacrifices to help." Requests for help can be found on Chimp Haven's [Amazon wish list](http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/11TBC2QRPGMK3/ref=cm_wl_sortbar_v_page_1?_encoding=UTF8&page=1) and [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chimp-Haven-Inc/35332221276). *Image: Plush toys waiting to be washed. ([Brandon Keim](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/31805863@N00/6330379864/in/set-72157628093089294)/Wired.com)*
