SAVE THE CHIMPS SANCTUARY

“It was a January night, at the beginning of this century, I was working on my computer around 9 pm. Darkness surrounded us. Suddenly I heard someone stomping on the great platform. It was the first time. Who could it be? I opened the door of the house, went down some stairs while my eyes adjusted to the dark night. It was true; someone was on the platform and was making noise. Then I realized it was Gromek , when I heard his characteristic cry. He tapped his foot a few more times and returned to his dormitory. I tried to guess what Gromek  had seen that I had not and what motivated him to do that. It was a blue sky full of stars. Then I realized Gromek had not seen neither heaven nor stars over the past 40 years, especially when his mother was killed in Africa, for him to be captured. I’ll never know what he was thinking. Nevertheless, I was not wrong that Gromek was announcing himself for the first time in his existence to the stars, to the night … and the world.”

Carole Noon, primatologist and founder of the largest Chimpanzee Sanctuary of the Planet, Save the Chimps, in Florida, wrote the text above remembering the first day and night of the first group of chimpanzees in 2001, who went to the sanctuary after being retired from the torture centers of U.S. Air Force.

Gromek suffered much in his lonely life. There were 40 years of biopsies, blood extractions and anesthesia. Gromek even received electrodes implanted in his head to record his reactions. Perhaps no other  primate had suffered so much in his existence.

Carole Noon got Gromek along with his group free, allowing them to enjoy some peace and happiness in the last 12 years. Several of his children live in the Sanctuary; however he had never met them: Alora, Zeus and Val. Others still survive in torture centers, such as  Ariah, Axl, Bert, Donnie, Veenstra and Wimpy.

Weeks ago, without warning, he finally rested…