7 chimpanzees rescued from closed facility in path of wildfire arrive at Fort Pierce sanctuary

By CAROLINE COLES

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    FORT PIERCE, Florida (WPBF) — A chimpanzee sanctuary in Fort Pierce introduced seven new arrivals this week. Save the Chimps got the chimpanzees from California after they were rescued from a closed facility in the path of a wildfire. FedEx flew the seven chimpanzees across the country free of charge.

The chimps, known as the Sunrise 7, retired from labs and show business in California and now they’re at their new home in sunny South Florida. Soon they’ll be interacting with other chimps almost as if they’re living in the wild.

“A lot of chimps spent their time here getting acclimated to freedom of choice, self-determination, and also we deal with chimps that have had various amounts of trauma and PTSD,” says Andrew Halloran, Director of Chimpanzee Behavior and Care.

After their 60-day quarantine, the seven new chimpanzees will have full access to the 5-acre island and will continue to receive care at the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Fort Pierce.

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