A “retirement home” has been set up for chimpanzees that had been used as research animals — and their home is a two-hour drive from Athens, in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
There is already a retirement home for chimpanzees used in government experiments. It is located in Keithville, Louisiana. Those were chimps released as part of what was called the CHIMP (Chimpanzee Health, Improvement, Maintenance and Protection) Act. But there was no such protective place to go for privately owned chimpanzees.
Until now. That’s when one woman stepped in. The complete story can be seen here on the Mother Nature Network:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/last-research-chimps-will-make-home-north-georgia-mountains
Interestingly, the site was actually a former gorilla sanctuary.
And in case you were wondering — Chimpanzees are great apes (not monkeys). They are native to the continent of Africa. If you ever wonder if you are looking at an ape or a monkey, look for a tail. Monkeys have tails, apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, gibbons — AND humans – do not.
To learn more about our amazing cousins, go to — http://www.savethechimps.org/about-us/chimp-facts/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwt-G8BRDktsvwpPTn1PkBEiQA-MRsBXuK4xIMeHGj9WZNtzgH0xcc4qE9JYUfFSIT54EGH_kaApfS8P8HAQ
