In a beautiful video filmed in his new home in Florida, a 28-year-old chimpanzee who had been imprisoned his entire life caught a glimpse of the wide sky for the first time. Watch the heartwarming video here.
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- Rescued chimpanzee sees the sky for the first time
- Vanilla and 30 other chimpanzees were transferred to the Wildlife Waystation
- Captivity can have various effects on animals.
Rescued chimpanzee sees the sky for the first time
Heartwarming moment Chimpanzee Vanilla, 29, explodes with joy when she sees the sky for the first time after being caged her entire life. pic.twitter.com/LYbf7S1lWB
– Carlos Pérez (@CarlosP95095856) June 27, 2023
Vanilla, the rescued chimpanzee, spent years at a biomedical research center in New York, where the chimpanzees were often housed in small cages “suspended from the ground like bird cages,” according to Save the Chimps, a chimpanzee sanctuary.
In the video that appears online, Vanilla runs into Dwight’s arms and looks up at the sky for the first time in 28 years in the beautiful footage captured by the shelter.
Vanilla was one of the last seven chimpanzees to be rehomed, according to Save the Chimps. Vanilla and four other chimpanzees, Shake, Magic, Jeff and Ernesta, were moved to a shelter in Florida.
Vanilla and her family were introduced to larger family groups at the sanctuary after quarantine, a procedure all new chimpanzees go through and are now fully integrated, according to Save the Chimps.
Shake, another chimpanzee, came out on the island without hesitation, but Vanilla was a little more apprehensive when the door to this new world opened according to Save the Chimps. She sat in the doorway until encouraged to join him by the alpha male, Dwight, who she can be seen hugging in the video.
Vanilla and 30 other chimpanzees were transferred to the Wildlife Waystation
Twitter screenshot
Vanilla and 30 other chimpanzees were moved to the Wildlife Waystation, a now-defunct animal shelter in California, in 1995, where she became part of a small family group.
When the Wildlife Waystation closed due to financial hardship in 2019, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife relocated all the animals living at the Los Angeles County sanctuary to other facilities across the country. CDFW officials stated that finding suitable homes for the 42 chimpanzees “proved especially difficult.”
The use of chimpanzees in medical research has declined substantially in the United States. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service designated captive chimpanzees as endangered in 2015, making research on them difficult.
In the same year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced plans to retire most of its chimpanzees and discontinue funding for chimpanzee research. In November 2015, the NIH formally ended all biomedical research on chimpanzees in the United States, except in rare circumstances where it may be vital to human health.
There has been a growing global trend towards stricter regulations and ethical considerations when it comes to using chimpanzees for research purposes.
Captivity can have various effects on animals.
Improper feeding, insufficient exercise, and unusual living conditions can cause health problems in captive animals. Compared to their wild counterparts, they can suffer from starvation, obesity, compromised immune systems, and shorter lifespans.
Rhythm, self-mutilation, stereotypical movements (repetitive activities with no apparent purpose), and hostility are common among captive animals. These behaviors can indicate tension, irritation or boredom as a result of confinement and lack of mental and physical stimulation.
Animals in captivity can lose or forget their inherent instincts and talents necessary to survive in the wild. This reduces their chances of adapting if they are eventually restored to their original environments.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn