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Hurricane Charley
On Friday, August 13, 2004, the Center for Great Apes was slammed by the eye wall
of a category 4 hurricane (Charley) packing 145 mph winds. The 7 humans,
14 chimpanzees, 5 orangutans, and 6 dogs who were at the sanctuary during
the storm are safe and unharmed. Continue...
On
April 6th, 2002, our members witnessed the opening of the Boswell
"Walk-About" Chute System at our annual
member event. With over 3000 feet of overhead tunnels, the apes
are able to move out of their home
enclosures and move through the woods on our 100 acre
property. Grub is now the first to
greet visitors as he sits 15 feet above the main path to the
chimpanzee area. Chris and Pongo
can be seen relaxing in the chutes high above the creek watching
the small minnows and tadpoles swim below. By planting
editable browse under and near the chute
system, the apes can forage for their own browse during the
day. With a straight-way of about 450 feet, Grub's favorite
game "chase" has become even 
better as he chases with visitors. He amazes everyone with
his 
speed-
most people can't keep up! You can really tell the apes
are enjoying this new found ability to "walk-about" the
woods.
2002
Member Event
On
March 24, 2002, Birute Galdikas, orangutan researcher, 
visited the Center for Great Apes. Galdikas has studied wild orangutans for
more than 30
years. While visiting with our chimpanzees and
orangutans,
she stressed the importance of sanctuaries like ours, which
provide healthy and enriching life-long care for great apes.
Dr. Galdikas is the director of Orangutan
Foundation International. OFI helps protect wild orangutans,
which are only found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. 
just entering their "teenage
years". We are very interested in
any new behaviors the apes might be
exhibiting. So the sanctuary staff
held classes to train volunteers how to
observe the apes. Thanks to the
observers, we have collected many 
hours
of behavior, including play, aggression, and
socialization. It's like having 30 new
pairs of eyes- thanks observers! We
plan to hold another observer class in May 2002. Please e-mail
us for more
information. 
Canadian
artist Alan Li has visited our sanctuary
several times in the past year while touring
several primate sanctuaries in Canada and
the US. At each sanctuary, he selects
several individual primates to sketch.
These detailed drawings will be included in
a book Alan is 
currently
working on. Alan was generous enough
to donate his time and talent to the Center
by drawing each of our chimpanzees.
You can see Alan's work on our T-shirts, Ape
Prints, Calendars and Note cards.
During Alan's latest visit, he gave the
sanctuary several new drawings of our
orangutans; Pongo, Christopher,
and Mari.
Annual Member Event
On March 24,
2000 members of the sanctuary joined us in Wauchula for our annual member meeting. A tour of the grounds included viewing our new
Arcus-Messner Chimpanzee Habitat as well as all the primate residents at play. A picnic lunch (planned with the “advice” of the apes) included fresh fruits & vegetables, peanut butter & banana sandwiches, banana chips, and banana pudding! A silent auction helped to raise funds for the care of the primates. It was wonderful to have our dedicated members and supporters visit the Center.
Expanded Sanctuary
March 7,
2000, the Center expanded from 15 acres to a total of 50 acres when an adjoining 35-acre parcel was donated to the sanctuary. The new property includes the continuation of the creek already on our site as well as woods and orange groves. The addition of this new acreage is vital to the future security and expansion of the sanctuary.
New arrivals
After 90 days of quarantine, the newest arrivals at the sanctuary
(Butch and Chipper) stepped
outside in January
2000 into their new 30-foot tall habitat (the most spacious out-door area they’ve ever been in).
They immediately started
running, swinging on the ropes, and climbing the tall tree structure in their enclosure. These two older male chimpanzees (ages 26 & 28), used in the Ringling Brothers Circus for more than 10 years… then “retired” to various temporary homes… now spend their days at the sanctuary building nests, running and playing games of “chase”, lounging in the sun in the 30-foot-high tower, and engaging in various
enrichment activities provided by the staff