Project Chimps

On the 12^th day of Christmas, I saw… chimps!

Emma (above)

After visiting the Georgia Aquarium, I had the unique opportunity to visit “Project Chimps” in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia. It’s a 240 acre sanctuary that is currently home to about 30 chimpanzees, all rescued from a biomedical research facility.

Arthur (above)

It will eventually be able to provide sanctuary to 300 chimps!

If you remember the compound where the cute dinos are kept in Jurassic Park, it gives you a pretty good idea of what the chimps’ amazing permanent retirement home looks like.

Because they were used for research, these chimps make their caregivers and veterinary team’s lives somewhat easy. They can show you their hand, stick their arm out or open their mouth, all on command. The sanctuary has a fully equipped veterinary clinic with X-rays and a surgery room; a prep kitchen (made possible by Rachael Ray !!!); and a room full of toys used for enrichment!

The team is now working on completing the outdoor habitat. This will allow the chimps, who have lived their entire lives in research facilities, to play outside for the first time in their lives.

Chimpanzees are great apes who can live over 50 years. Project Chimps was founded to provide a permanent, long-term home where they can thrive.

Do you love the idea?

How can you support this amazing project? The sanctuary is not currently open to the public, but private educational tours will be available soon. Meanwhile, you can help out financially (https://projectchimps.org/support-us/donate/).

You can literally sponsor a chimp for $23 per month!

You can also buy toys, supplies and… nuts through an Amazon wish list.

Or you can purchase some pretty cool gear, for yourself or as a gift for someone you love (https://www.ecojoia.com/index.php/stores/partner-all/ecojoia/pc).

Taz (above)

I hope you’ll join me in supporting Project Chimps.

Thank you.

Thank you also for following our 12 Days of Christmas, I hope you enjoyed the amazing wonders Mother Nature has to offer. I wish you, your family and your pets a wonderful New Year.

Dr. Phil Zeltzman is a traveling veterinary surgeon in Pennsylvania & New Jersey. An award-winning author, he loves to share his adventures in practice along with information about vet medicine and surgery that can really help your pets. Dr. Zeltzman specializes in orthopedic, neurologic, cancer, and soft tissue surgeries for dogs, cats, and small exotics. By working with local family vets, he offers the best surgical care, safest anesthesia, and utmost pain management to all his patients. Sign up to get an email when he updates his blog, and follow him on Facebook, too!