Meet Vanilla, a 28-year-old chimpanzee whose life is starting to look up—quite literally. Vanilla started her life in a research facility in New York, where she was one of many chimps used for biomedical research. Things are turning around for Vanilla, and now she lives in a chimp sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida alongside 29 of her friends, where there are grassy fields, places to climb, and good food.
Videos by Outdoors
Before moving to Fort Pierce, Vanilla had not seen the sky in a very long time, or possibly ever, and this special first glimpse of the sky was captured on video.
In the footage, the chimpanzee exits a cement building with the help of a friend, Dwight, who is encouraging her to go outside. She clings to Dwight, and the video captures the moment her face turns towards the sky. She makes an unforgettable expression—one of pure joy.
The treatment of chimps in scientific facilities is a controversial topic. Living with dozens of other chimps, they were “suspended from the ground like bird cages,” a statement from Save the Chimps said.
Even though Vanilla left the research facility in New York back in 1995, many chimps, including Vanilla, were not moved to a sanctuary but a “rescue facility” in California, where living conditions did not greatly improve.
Andrew Halloran, director of Save the Chimps, told the New York Post that in the California facility, the chimps were cut off from the outside world inside a chain-link fence cage with no grass.
Throughout the clip, Vanilla keeps turning her gaze skyward, almost in disbelief, in awe of her new home.
The Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida is a rich outdoor environment made of 12 separate 3-acre islands allows the chimps to have space and community. They have access to sunlight and nature all day long and are provided medical care and nutritious foods—a chimp’s dream come true.
