For the LOVE of CHIMPS

[thepanthootproject]

Volunteering for Chimpanzees

If you love chimpanzees and enjoy hard work, why not consider volunteering at a rescue centre?

In North America, Europe, and the chimpanzee’s native Africa, there are many opportunities to get stuck in and make a positive impact on organisations fighting for a better future for chimpanzees and other primates.

From December to April, I was working as a volunteer primate caregiver at AAP Primadomus, located in sunny Spain. The centre rehabilitates many primates and big cats, with the long-term goals of seeing them move on to suitable permanent homes, and to see a reduction in the wildlife pet and smuggling trades. Primadomus was at that time home to nine amazing chimpanzees, all living within the centre’s long-term primate care section, two buildings known as ‘Modules A and B’. The section also included three groups of macaques that had been successfully re-socialised, and eighteen marmosets waiting for their final journey to new homes. Volunteers, working alongside the experienced and knowledgeable care-giving staff play a vital role in maintaining a high quality of care for the rescued primates.

A Day in the Life

Volunteers arrive at 8:30 am, and gather together the first feed of the day, along with enrichment items that will be placed inside the enclosures. When we arrive at the buildings, we get started on morning tasks- including changing waters, chopping breakfast fruit and checking temperatures. Trusted volunteers are tasked with preparing medications for the primates; with several elderly animals and animals with chronic illnesses, it can be a big job. Volunteers are trained to get to know all the primates as individuals, and will always let the caregiver in charge know of any unusual behaviours or signs of ill health observed.

Valued items such as fruit are hidden, and chimpanzee Prudence has just found some! 

  For some of the primates, breakfast is thrown over the fence into their outdoor enclosure, but for most, it is spread and hidden throughout the enclosure. At this time, the security of the fencing is carefully checked, as well as the general state of the enclosure. Once the enclosures are fully secure and filled with the morning’s goodies, the primates are let out, and for us, cleaning can begin!

For much of the morning, the main task is to thoroughly clean the primates’ indoor living quarters. Chimpanzees especially are VERY messy! Although it’s a smelly job, it is extremely satisfying to create a pleasant environment for the animals. It is an opportunity to look at the primates’ faeces to look for abnormalities- or even take samples for parasite testing, and to take note of what food has been leftover from the day before. Cleaning time is broken up by giving extra enrichment to the primates, helping to keep them occupied. 

It wasn’t all hard work... testing out a newly installed chimpanzee hammock was rather fun, and relaxing after the heavy lifting taken to get it there.

Cleaning is finished just in time for lunch, which is served by throwing over the fences. With some groups of animals- like Patrick’s chimp group- it is a two-person job to make sure all individuals can get a fair share. Knowing about the relationships between the animals plays a big part here; we always start feeding only once the most dominant animal is ready. 

Being the highest-ranked individual in his group, Patrick is front of the queue at lunchtime! 

With everyone fed- including us- it’s time to prepare enrichment for the following day. We work from an enrichment calendar, which ensures that all groups receive an interesting variety of stimulating items and activities throughout the month. This could be in the form of food puzzles and toys, sensory enrichment such as scents and spices, or scatter forages. It can be a big job, as there must be enough items prepared for each individual in their group plus two extra to avoid squabbles. While some volunteers are putting together the next day’s enrichment, others wash the items used on the preceding day. 

Peggy works on a favourite enrichment item, a Frisbee tower. With sticky food between the layers, the chimpanzees love working on these. 

At 4pm, it’s dinnertime. It’s one of the most exciting times of the day, when the chimpanzees are at their loudest. For some of the animals, including in the wintertime, the chimpanzees, it’s time to retire indoors for the night. Nests are made with blankets, woodwool, firehose and deep litter, with each chimpanzee having their favourite spot to bed down. Old Antoine is particularly meticulous in his nest building! It’s wonderfully peaceful to watch the chimpanzees bed down, but we can’t observe for too long- outdoor enclosures still need cleaning.

At the end of the day, we clean the outdoor enclosures, bringing in all the enrichment devices that have been used and removing all the mess. We wrap up the evening by cleaning all the food buckets, checking temperatures and filling out the daily reports. We leave Primadomus tired but satisfied, knowing we’ve given the rescued primates another great day.

Achille, the oldest chimpanzee at Primadomus, thought to be in his fifties.

Want to give it a try?

AAP Primadomus is always keen to take on volunteers who are dedicated to animal care. If you have three months or more of your time, you can apply to work alongside the experienced and friendly team of caregivers and contribute to Primadomus’ important rehabilitation work. Volunteers are provided accommodation and transport free of charge, and form a closely knit team, all working together for the benefit of the amazing animals in their care. You will experience the highs and lows of caring for wild animals, and learn from knowledgeable and passionate mentors. If you are curious about working with chimpanzees or other primates, there really is no better way to start.

Visit aap.nl/es to learn more about the program.

There are many brilliant opportunities for caring and dedicated individuals to become involved with the fight to create a better future for chimpanzees. Working for these amazing and tragically threatened apes is an utmost privilege and an experience that will stay with you always. Volunteers join a global community that will together make a difference. You too can be a piece of the puzzle. 

[thepanthootproject]

The Cruelty Behind the ‘Cute’

In recent months, videos of chimpanzee juveniles interacting with keepers and observing magic tricks have gone viral. The chimps are naturally very appealing, thanks to their curiosity and youthful ‘cuteness’, but what the hundreds of viewers don’t see is that these animals are among more than forty of their kind being abused and exploited by a notorious German circus, Schwaben Park. With over two and a half million views, the images shown are far reaching, and for a species that is both endangered and a frequent victim of inappropriate use for profit, sends a dangerous and disturbing message.

So what’s the big problem?

First and foremost, it is important to recognise that the chimpanzees in these videos, like most performing apes, are juveniles. In order to be raised and trained with close human contact in mind, these chimps will have been forcibly removed from their mothers at infancy, and isolated from a healthy social environment during the vital period of childhood development. The ill effects of such deprivation are well documented, with chimpanzees raised with close contact with humans suffering from lifelong difficulties in species appropriate social behaviour- and for an ape with a ‘work life’ of up to eight years, and a potential life span of sixty, that is a heavy price to pay for a few years of ‘entertainment’.

Chimpanzee infants have incredibly strong bonds with their mothers, nursing for around four to five years, and often retaining a close relationship with her long into adulthood.  They have complex social lives, living in multi-generational communities and spending a great deal of time grooming and playing with members of their extended family. In the name of being a novelty, these chimpanzees are deprived of these relationships, which is nothing short of cruelty. Whether or not the actual training took place using physical violence, all chimpanzee ‘actors’ have suffered at human hands, as have the mothers who suffered the loss of their infants.

Activist group, Animal Equality, conducted an intensive investigation into the use of chimpanzees at Schwaben Park, and documented many concerns.

-chimpanzees dressed up, leashed, and ‘performing’ in archaic circus style shows

-lack of transparency with regards to the training process, which previous research has shown that harsh and abusive methods are prominent

-a constant stream of infants are bred, only to be removed from their mothers for hand rearing and training

-inappropriate housing and widespread exhibition of stereotypical behaviours in chimpanzees at the facility

This is an issue that stretches much further than Schwaben Park itself. A recent study (Chartrand, Hare, Rosati, Schroepfer, 2011) found that seeing chimpanzees in these unnatural situations gave the impression to viewers that chimpanzees are not a threatened species. The viewers who saw chimpanzees performing were less likely to contribute to chimpanzee conservation charities. In addition, performing chimpanzees are almost always infants and juveniles, portraying the misguided image that these animals are small, cuddly, cute, and a fun choice of a pet. Many chimpanzees are still kept as pets in the United States today, lacking vital interaction with their own kind and the ability to express natural behaviour. As the infamous incident involving the ‘pet’ chimpanzee Travis in 2009 highlighted, the keeping of chimpanzees as pets presents a danger to humans, in addition to being harmful to the chimp.

What can be done?

Public perception makes an enormous difference into how chimpanzees are treated in our society. This is an endangered species, an intelligent, emotional and socially complex species, and a species that needs our understanding. 

When you see media featuring chimpanzees, ask these questions:

Is this an infant or juvenile chimpanzee being posed rather than being photographed naturally?

Has this chimpanzee been removed from a social group for this encounter (if interacting with humans other than through enclosure barriers, this will certainly be a ‘yes’)?

Is this chimpanzee interacting with species other than its own kind?

To the untrained eye, it can be difficult to spot a chimpanzee performer. No ethical captive care facility will remove a young chimp from a social group for publicity, profit, or performance. If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, it is indicative that the chimpanzee in question is being mistreated.

Raising awareness of what goes into viral videos such as this one through simple comments raising concerns can put the issue on the radar of those who might otherwise have no idea. Tell others about the threats facing chimpanzees- all subspecies are classified as Endangered, aside from the West African Pan troglodytes verus, which is Critically Endangered. Threats such as destruction of habitat, the illegal bushmeat trade, the trade in live infants, and disease, are leaving the chimpanzee fighting for survival.

Write letters to companies using chimpanzee performers; public pressure is a big influence, and major companies have sworn from using non-human primate ‘actors’ as a result.

Get in contact with and donate to rescue organisations working to give a better life to chimpanzees who have been retired from the entertainment and pet industries. These dedicated people have a wealth of knowledge and will be eager to help you learn more about these issues.

It is the right of every young chimpanzee to be raised by a chimpanzee mother.

Infant and juvenile chimps belong in their mothers’ arms, not sitting beside a human on a bench.

[thepanthootproject]

UPDATE!

As a result of tireless campaigning for activists throughout Europe, the chimpanzee shows at Schwaben Park will finally cease. What remains, however, is for the more than forty individual chimpanzees in the facility to be retired to a reputable home that can better meet their needs.

[thepanthootproject]

Meet the Family: Tsotsi

Tsotsi, born at Adelaide Zoo to Peter and Fimi on 25/06/89. Sadly, his father died when Tsotsi was young, leaving him with just his mother and sister as company, and no male role-models. This limited social experience meant that finding a good situation for him in a proper chimpanzee group when Adelaide Zoo decided they could no longer adequately care for the species. In the end, a new chimpanzee group was built around Tsotsi in Monarto Zoo’s brand new facility. It was a steep learning curve for Tsotsi, but he found his place among the band of three other males, under the guidance of then alpha Boyd, with whom he developed a strong bond. After the four females joined the group, Tsotsi took the role of alpha male, despite being by far the most inexperienced boy in the group.

As an alpha male, Tsotsi is in the thick of the social politics in the group, and unafraid to throw his weight around when necessary. On a good day, though, he can have his supporter Boyd, or even Gombe as well, take care of business for him. Though he was once in favour with the core group of females, these bonds appear to have diminished somewhat after the tragic death of young female Zwala. Tsotsi is devoted to the infants in the group, and is one of Zuri’s absolute favourite playmates. Sometimes, he’ll enjoy a game of wrestling or chase with his friends, Boyd and Gombe too.

How to spot Tsotsi in a crowd?

Tsotsi is short, but very sturdily built. The hair on his arms and lower legs is patchy, from long hours of grooming with the other males. Visitors to the zoo often think Tsotsi is an old man, due to his silvery grey hair on his head, round his face, on his back and thighs. He has a prominent beard. Tsotsi’s ears are small, and almost elfin in shape. Compared to the other adult chimpanzees in the group, he has pale skin on his face and ears- meaning keepers have to apply sunscreen to his ears in summer!

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Meet the Family: Gombe

Gombe is not a huge chimpanzee, but he has a big personality! He was born at Wellington Zoo on the 04/02/93 to parents Boyd and Jodie. Sadly, Gombe’s mother died when he was only nine years old, leaving him with no family support in Wellington’s chimpanzee community. In 2009, he was chosen, along with his father, to join the beginnings of a chimpanzee community at Monarto Zoo, and so enable the socially inexperienced Tsotsi to learn what it means to be a male chimpanzee.

During his time at Monarto, Gombe has been a strong player in the political side of the group, switching his alliances frequently and keeping everyone on their toes. More recently, he has supported alpha male Tsotsi againt the up-and-coming Sandali. He is not a big favourite among the females, but is a lovable uncle figure to the infants in the group. In 2015, Gombe stunned everyone by caring for and protecting orphaned baby Boon in the very beginning of his short life. His actions were a poignant reminder of how strong the bonds were that had formed in this fledgling chimpanzee community. Gombe is vigorous, energetic, opinionated, and first in the queue whevever something’s happening- a huge character, that’s for sure.

How to spot Gombe in a crowd?

Gombe is one of the smaller males in the group, and walks with something of a confident strut in his step. His face and hair is very dark, aside from his silvery beard and greying rump. He has notches in his ears, and on his brow over his left eye. If you see one of the Monarto chimpanzees swaggering around upright during a display, it’s more than likely that you’re looking at Gombe. Like his father, Boyd, Gombe loves wearing blankets and towels over his head.

[thepanthootproject]

Meet the Family: Boyd

The eldest of Monarto Zoo’s chimpanzee group, and former alpha male, is Boyd. He was born at Wellington Zoo on the 29/10/78 to parents Tom and Bebe. He lived with his birth group until 2009, in which time he fathered several infants; Gombe, Chima, Alexis, and Bahati. His eldest son, Gombe, traveled with him to Monarto Zoo, where Boyd quickly established himself in the top-ranking position, a position that he held onto until the arrival of the four chimpanzee ladies. Now, he’s a loyal ally and role-model to the group’s current alpha male, Tsotsi.

Although he’s heavily involved in the serious side of male politics, Boyd is also a favourite playmate of young Zuri and has a great sense of fun. He enjoys pulling faces, grooming with the other males, and snuggling up under blankets.

How to spot Boyd in a crowd?

Boyd is probably one of the easiest chimpanzees to pick out from the others; not least because both of his ears have been largely bitten away. He has a long, narrow face, framed with thin hair. He has a few white spots around his mouth and chin. Boyd has wispy, white and grey hairs on his cheeks and chest. Having held and lost the position of alpha male twice in his life, he has many scars over his body.

[thepanthootproject]

Meeting a Chimpanzee Family...

At South Australia’s Monarto Zoo, the seeds of a chimpanzee community have been developing since 2009. Eight chimpanzees have captured their heart of SA’s zoo community, and many visitors; and have inspired great generosity toward those of their kind who remain in need. The zoo’s chimpanzee exhibit has an interesting history; it came about in response to the need to find a suitable home for its sister zoo in Adelaide’s male chimp, Tsotsi, who lacked any social experience with his own sex. The solution the zoo came up with was to build an all new chimpanzee group around Tsotsi; thus giving him his best chance at integrating into a more natural social group. The resulting chimpanzee facility was built on respect and understanding of our chimpanzee cousins.

The chimp house in early 2009.

 In 2009, Tsotsi arrived in his brand new home, alongside Sandali, a younger male who’d grown up in Taronga Zoo’s famously natural chimpanzee community. After a long introduction process, the two formed a friendship, and the beginnings of the Monarto group was born. The pair was joined by the end of the year by father-son duo, Boyd and Gombe, from New Zealand’s Wellington Zoo. As the year drew to a close, the boys experienced their beautiful new enclosure. In 2010, four Dutch chimpanzee girls, Zombi, Soona, Zwala and Galatea brought the group to eight, and in 2012, the group’s first infant, Zuri, was born.

The following years were full of ups and downs; with Zwala, Soona, and Soona’s infant son, Boon, passing away, and Zombi giving birth to her second infant, Enzi.

I will be sharing posts following this marvellous chimpanzee group on this blog. Keep checking back for photographs, videos, and learning more about the individuals who make up the family.

[thepanthootproject]

Volunteering for Chimpanzees

Morning in the South African bush is associated with many sounds of nature, but the one I woke up to each morning for two glorious weeks, was something quite foreign. The chimpanzees of the Jane Goodall Institute South Africa’s Chimp Eden were up with the sun, and the youngsters were already high in the trees.

It was mid-2012, and I’d come to the beautiful sanctuary, set in the sprawling Umhloti Reserve to volunteer. My role as a volunteer helper was to contribute to a long term study of the behaviour of the rescued chimpanzees. Each individual was to be monitored for a period of two hours at least once a month, with the data recorded for future reference. The chimpanzees at the sanctuary are almost all orphans of the illegal bushmeat trade, and suffered varying levels of abuse. Many were smuggled from their homes to be sold as pets, others kept as performers or tourist attractions. Adjusting to life with their own kind in large, tree filled enclosures was a challenge for some, and the ongoing study allowed the staff to keep tabs on their progress- what species specific behaviours they exhibited, who they were spending time with, and whether they were using all of their sanctuary environment. For the entirety of my stay, my focus was the most recently established group, known as ‘Group 1′.

The oldest and youngest of Group 1; former circus performer Charles- now alpha male, and four-year-old bushmeat orphan Tamu.

This group consisted of twelve chimpanzees, most of which being juveniles and young adolescents. During my time, I did a focus study on each individual at least once, recording what they were doing, where, and with whom. Spending so much time watching the chimpanzees was a great privilege, and enabled me to gain an insight into their riveting individual personalities. Azie, for example, was a master tool user, spending long periods hammering nuts with stones or fishing for hidden treats with sticks- even when the other chimps had totally lost interest. Charlene, a slightly older juvenile, didn’t have quite the same master stroke with tools. She watched carefully as the other chimps opened nuts with rock hammers, but when they stepped aside, she inspected the rock and put it promptly on the ground, deciding to pummel the nut with her fist instead. Thankfully for Charlene, she had a good friend to count on. Suzie, a young adolescent who’d been an attraction for tourists, would always nap right by her side. When Charlene became upset, screaming as the other chimps became engaged in an altercation, it would be Suzie who’d run over to give her a comforting hug. The beautiful Suzie had a tendency to spend long periods just sitting and watching her human observers; often with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap. It was hard not to wonder what she thought of us.

When the time came to leave the sanctuary behind, I was left with a great love for each of the chimpanzees as individuals, and a yearning to do more. I am now planning my next trip to do my bit for chimpanzees, and I’m sure many such adventures lie before me. Spending time with chimpanzees is deeply affecting, cementing the knowledge that we are just another animal in a vast kingdom, and that we must act now to save the environment we share- and those who inhabit it.

Suzie’s mesmerising gaze.

Chimpanzees face negative impacts from humans from many directions; the bushmeat trade leaving infants orphaned, often to be sold as pets; the legal use of chimpanzees as pets and performers in the United States; and the many use of chimpanzees in biomedical research that has left chimps waiting in labs for decades. Thankfully, there are many passionate people working to help them, and to give a better life to those rescued from situations of improper care and abuse. There is a need for volunteers to get involved- to pitch in to help, be it in direct animal care, enrichment, or non-invasive research. From volunteer commitments ranging from just a couple of weeks to a year or even ongoing support, there are many options for those wanting to lend a hand to our chimpanzee cousins.

If you’re looking to volunteer for chimpanzees, start your search with the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance and North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance, whose websites list volunteer opportunities at member sanctuaries. It may well be the beginning of a life-changing adventure!

~For the love of chimps~

[thepanthootproject]

The Cruelty Behind the ‘Cute’

In recent months, videos of chimpanzee juveniles interacting with keepers and observing magic tricks have gone viral. The chimps are naturally very appealing, thanks to their curiosity and youthful ‘cuteness’, but what the hundreds of viewers don’t see is that these animals are among more than forty of their kind being abused and exploited by a notorious German circus, Schwaben Park. With over two and a half million views, the images shown are far reaching, and for a species that is both endangered and a frequent victim of inappropriate use for profit, sends a dangerous and disturbing message.

So what’s the big problem?

First and foremost, it is important to recognise that the chimpanzees in these videos, like most performing apes, are juveniles. In order to be raised and trained with close human contact in mind, these chimps will have been forcibly removed from their mothers at infancy, and isolated from a healthy social environment during the vital period of childhood development. The ill effects of such deprivation are well documented, with chimpanzees raised with close contact with humans suffering from lifelong difficulties in species appropriate social behaviour- and for an ape with a ‘work life’ of up to eight years, and a potential life span of sixty, that is a heavy price to pay for a few years of ‘entertainment’.

Chimpanzee infants have incredibly strong bonds with their mothers, nursing for around four to five years, and often retaining a close relationship with her long into adulthood.  They have complex social lives, living in multi-generational communities and spending a great deal of time grooming and playing with members of their extended family. In the name of being a novelty, these chimpanzees are deprived of these relationships, which is nothing short of cruelty. Whether or not the actual training took place using physical violence, all chimpanzee ‘actors’ have suffered at human hands, as have the mothers who suffered the loss of their infants.

Activist group, Animal Equality, conducted an intensive investigation into the use of chimpanzees at Schwaben Park, and documented many concerns.

-chimpanzees dressed up, leashed, and ‘performing’ in archaic circus style shows

-lack of transparency with regards to the training process, which previous research has shown that harsh and abusive methods are prominent

-a constant stream of infants are bred, only to be removed from their mothers for hand rearing and training

-inappropriate housing and widespread exhibition of stereotypical behaviours in chimpanzees at the facility

This is an issue that stretches much further than Schwaben Park itself. A recent study (Chartrand, Hare, Rosati, Schroepfer, 2011) found that seeing chimpanzees in these unnatural situations gave the impression to viewers that chimpanzees are not a threatened species. The viewers who saw chimpanzees performing were less likely to contribute to chimpanzee conservation charities. In addition, performing chimpanzees are almost always infants and juveniles, portraying the misguided image that these animals are small, cuddly, cute, and a fun choice of a pet. Many chimpanzees are still kept as pets in the United States today, lacking vital interaction with their own kind and the ability to express natural behaviour. As the infamous incident involving the ‘pet’ chimpanzee Travis in 2009 highlighted, the keeping of chimpanzees as pets presents a danger to humans, in addition to being harmful to the chimp.

What can be done?

Public perception makes an enormous difference into how chimpanzees are treated in our society. This is an endangered species, an intelligent, emotional and socially complex species, and a species that needs our understanding. 

When you see media featuring chimpanzees, ask these questions:

Is this an infant or juvenile chimpanzee being posed rather than being photographed naturally?

Has this chimpanzee been removed from a social group for this encounter (if interacting with humans other than through enclosure barriers, this will certainly be a ‘yes’)?

Is this chimpanzee interacting with species other than its own kind?

To the untrained eye, it can be difficult to spot a chimpanzee performer. No ethical captive care facility will remove a young chimp from a social group for publicity, profit, or performance. If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, it is indicative that the chimpanzee in question is being mistreated.

Raising awareness of what goes into viral videos such as this one through simple comments raising concerns can put the issue on the radar of those who might otherwise have no idea. Tell others about the threats facing chimpanzees- all subspecies are classified as Endangered, aside from the West African Pan troglodytes verus, which is Critically Endangered. Threats such as destruction of habitat, the illegal bushmeat trade, the trade in live infants, and disease, are leaving the chimpanzee fighting for survival.

Write letters to companies using chimpanzee performers; public pressure is a big influence, and major companies have sworn from using non-human primate ‘actors’ as a result.

Get in contact with and donate to rescue organisations working to give a better life to chimpanzees who have been retired from the entertainment and pet industries. These dedicated people have a wealth of knowledge and will be eager to help you learn more about these issues.

It is the right of every young chimpanzee to be raised by a chimpanzee mother.

Infant and juvenile chimps belong in their mothers’ arms, not sitting beside a human on a bench.

[thepanthootproject]

A Letter to Hallmark

I expect it would be a rare person in the Western world who has not walked down the greeting card aisle in a gift store or supermarket and seen the toothy fear-grimace of an infant or juvenile chimpanzee ‘photo prop’. What many people aren’t so aware of, is the cruelty that goes into such products, and the suffering that will likely go on for decades after the photograph was taken.

See below my letter to Hallmark Cards, one of the most notorious users of chimpanzees in printed media:

Dear Mr. Hall and associates,

It is deeply upsetting to see the continued use of young chimpanzees as photo props for Hallmark cards. You may be aware that chimpanzees are intelligent animals with a great need for the complex social life they receive with their own kind. They are also endangered in the wild, and every effort should be made to promote accurate portrayals of chimpanzees as a species, rather than the ‘clowns’ so often shown in media such as your own.

In order for a chimpanzee infant to be trained to pose for such photo opportunities, he or she would have been removed from their mother. Chimpanzee infants have incredibly strong bonds with their mothers, nursing for around four to five years, and often retaining a close relationship with her long into adulthood.  They have complicated and fulfilling social lives, living in multi-generational communities and spending a great deal of time grooming and playing with members of their extended family. To deprive a chimpanzee of these relationships is terribly cruel, and the negative effects on these chimps is well documented. Whether or not the actual training took place using physical violence, all chimpanzee ‘actors’ have suffered at human hands, as have the mothers who suffered the loss of their infants. When you realise that the familiar chimpanzee ‘smile’ with their lips pulled back and their teeth exposed is actually an involuntary signal of fear, it becomes obvious that to train such an expression to be shown on demand, the chimpanzee infant must be put through great distress and likely pain.

The grinning chimpanzees that adorn your cards are infants and juveniles; very few chimps are used in the entertainment industry after reaching adolescence, and they face an uncertain future. These intelligent beings, who may live another fifty years in captivity after their ‘working’ days are over, often find themselves in roadside zoos or at breeding facilities where they will be used to perpetuate the cruelty. If they are one of the fortunate few to make it to an accredited sanctuary or zoo, it is likely that he will struggle to integrate with other chimpanzees after growing up as a ‘pseudo-human’. Whatever the outcome for these chimpanzee photo props, their abnormal upbringing will most likely affect their social behaviour for the rest of his life (Freeman and Ross, 2014).

Aside from the cruelty inflicted on the chimpanzees used to pose for such pictures themselves, the repercussions of this portrayal in the media extend to public attitudes to what is an endangered, intelligent, and potentially very dangerous wild animal. A recent study (Chartrand, Hare, Rosati, Schroepfer, 2011) found that seeing chimpanzees in these unnatural situations gave the impression to viewers that chimpanzees are not a threatened species. The viewers who saw chimpanzees performing were less likely to contribute to chimpanzee conservation charities. In addition, as these chimpanzee ‘props’ are almost always infants and juveniles, the misguided image is portrayed that these animals are small, cuddly, cute, and a fun choice of a pet. Many chimpanzees are still kept as pets in the United States today, lacking vital interaction with their own kind and the ability to express natural behaviour. As the infamous incident involving the ‘pet’ chimpanzee Travis in 2009 highlighted, the keeping of chimpanzees as pets presents a danger to humans as well.

I ask that Hallmark makes the ethical and forward-thinking decision to cease the use of chimpanzee photo props in their products. There are countless stunning, moving and humorous images of chimpanzees in wild or sanctuary settings that could just as easily be used for the purposes of greeting cards. Hallmark cards reach a great many people, and the message that you choose to put out with them makes a difference. Hallmark cards can contribute to the abuse of these intelligent animals and hinder efforts to make the general public of the need to conserve them, or it they can portray the animals as they are meant to be and make a positive impact on the way people respect and understand this endangered species.

Thank you for taking the time to read and consider my concerns on this important matter.

Sincerely,

Amy Atherton The Pant Hoot Project

Every day, consumers come into contact with irresponsible portrayals of chimpanzees in the media- and this species continues to suffer for it. Please reach out to Hallmark, and let it be known that this abuse needs to be a thing of the past.

Contact Hallmark here: https://hallmark.custhelp.com/app/ask

Thank you for speaking out for chimpanzees!

[thepanthootproject]

Adopt a Chimp!

December 17, 2014

  Many sanctuaries and rescue centres offer symbolic adoptions, allowing caring folk to contribute to the care of chimps who have come from often appalling situations. The satisfaction of knowing your donation is helping to give a retired or rescued chimpanzee the happy and safe life of which they are so deserving is reward in itself, but you will often be treated with photographs and stories of your adopted invididual as a token of appreciation for your kindness as well. 

  The following sanctuaries and rescue centres offer symbolic adoptions to support the dedicated care they provide their chimpanzee residents:

NORTH AMERICA:

Chimps Inc.

Chimp Haven

Save the Chimps, Inc.

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Primate Rescue Center

Center for Great Apes

Fauna Foundation

    EUROPE

Monkey World- Ape Rescue Centre

MONA Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Stichting AAP

Rainfer Primate Rescue Centre

Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary

    AFRICA

Ape Action Africa

Chimpanzee Conservation Center

Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage

HELP-Congo

Chimp Eden (JGI South Africa)

JACK Jeunes Animaux Confisqués au Katanga

Limbe Wildlife Centre

Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center

Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitaion Centre (JGI)

[thepanthootproject]

Thank you for a successful 2014 fundraiser

December 14, 2014

  I would like to give an enormous thank you to everyone who has purchased items from our Red Bubble store, 'Reach Out For Chimps' over the past year. It has been exciting for me to see new items become available- the store now sells chimpanzee themed throw pillows, tote bags and ipad/iphone cases, along with the cards and prints that the store was originally set up for. Feedback has been excellent, and I am always happy to hear from those who have purchased items. If you have purchased an item from Reach Out for Chimps, please feel free to share pictures of your item, many are quite unique and your pictures can give a good idea to others as to what to expect.

Thanks to your generosity, I have recently been able to donate $40 AUD each to Chimp Eden, Chimp Haven, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Ngogo Chimpanzee Project and Mona Chimpanzee Sanctuary.  On top of this, an extra $30 donation was made to Chimp Eden for Nikki and Amadeus' new home from the sale of calendars, and $50 was donated to Tacugama in light of the Ebola crisis, which was matched by IPPL.

Presently I am working as an intern at Chimps Inc., a NAPSA sanctuary in Bend, Oregon. It is truly special to get to know such a wonderful group of chimpanzees, and I recommend a visit to their website to learn more about their work in chimpanzee care and welfare and educational outreach: http://www.chimps-inc.org/

[thepanthootproject]

A Music Video is NO Place for a Chimpanzee

October 24, 2014

It was with a great deal of disappointment that I learned of yet another celebrity (in this case, celebrities in the plural) supporting the abuse of chimpanzees in the entertainment industry. In this instance, it is One Direction who have made the poor decision to feature a chimpanzee in their new music video. The chimpanzee, Eli, is owned by Steve Martin’s Working Wildlife, a company with previous history of poor treatment of the animals under their care.

In order for Eli to perform for our entertainment, and pose with celebrities, he would have been removed from his mother. Chimpanzee infants have incredibly strong bonds with their mothers, nursing for around four to five years, and often retaining a close relationship with her long into adulthood.  They have complex social lives, living in multi-generational communities and spending a great deal of time grooming and playing with members of their extended family. In the name of being a novelty to the ignorant masses, Eli (along others like him) was deprived of these relationships, which is nothing short of cruelty. Whether or not the actual training took place using physical violence, all chimpanzee ‘actors’ have suffered at human hands, as have the mothers who suffered the loss of their infants.

  The future for a chimp like Eli is very bleak. Once he reaches an age where he becomes unmanageable, he may find himself living in poor conditions at a roadside zoo or at a breeding facility where he will be used to perpetuate the cruelty. If he is one of the fortunate few to make it to an accredited sanctuary or zoo, it is likely that he will struggle to integrate with other chimpanzees after growing up as a ‘pseudo-human’. Whatever the outcome for Eli, his abnormal upbringing will most likely affect his social behaviour for the rest of his life (Freeman and Ross, 2014).

  Aside from the cruelty inflicted on Eli himself as a performing chimp, the repercussions of this portrayal in the media extend to public attitudes to what is an endangered, intelligent, and potentially very dangerous wild animal. A recent study (Chartrand, Hare, Rosati, Schroepfer, 2011) found that seeing chimpanzees in these unnatural situations gave the impression to viewers that chimpanzees are not a threatened species. The viewers who saw chimpanzees performing were less likely to contribute to chimpanzee conservation charities. In addition, performing chimpanzees are almost always infants and juveniles, portraying the misguided image that these animals are small, cuddly, cute, and a fun choice of a pet. Many chimpanzees are still kept as pets in the United States today, lacking vital interaction with their own kind and the ability to express natural behaviour. As the infamous incident involving the ‘pet’ chimpanzee Travis in 2009 highlighted, the keeping of chimpanzees as pets presents a danger to humans as well.

  Sadly, a great deal of people are unaware of the issues behind the cute chimpanzees you see paraded around by celebrities, and while people of great influence to the masses continue to support this cruelty, it will continue. Please make your voice heard: tell One Direction that this abuse of one of our closest relatives is unacceptable. In this day and age with impressive CGI technology available (see the recent Dawn of the Planet of the Apes film), there really is no excuse.

Visit Eyes on Apes for more information on apes in entertainment, and their Action Alert to find out how you can speak out on Eli’s behalf.

  Freeman HD, Ross SR. (2014) The impact of atypical early histories on pet or performer chimpanzees. PeerJ 2:e579 http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.579

Schroepfer KK, Rosati AG, Chartrand T, Hare B (2011) Use of “Entertainment” Chimpanzees in Commercials Distorts Public Perception Regarding Their Conservation Status. PLoS ONE 6(10): e26048. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026048