Too Frail To Retire? Humans Ponder The Fate Of Research Chimps
Lab chimps used in medical studies are being retired to a forested sanctuary. But scientists and workers who care for the animals say some older chimps aren't healthy enough to make the transition.
Sarah Anne, a 59-year-old chimpanzee, is famous enough to have her own Wikipedia page. That's because she was captured from the wild as an infant and raised in the home of a language researcher who taught her to use symbols for words. These days, she lives at Chimp Haven, a wooded sanctuary for former research chimps in Louisiana, along with a new pal named Marie.
"And Marie loves to groom with Sarah, and follows her around and gives her lots of attention. And we're seeing Sarah play with her and just being much more sociable," says Amy Fultz, who studies animal behavior and co-founded Chimp Haven in 1995. "At 59, that's a really cool thing to be able to see and watch."
Their friendship shows that even very old chimps can grow and
