ABOUT THE SANCTUARY
About Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees are members of the great ape family, which includes bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, and humans. They inhabit 21 African countries and live in the greatest concentrations in rainforests along the equator.
Free-living chimpanzee populations are rapidly decreasing due to deforestation and the illegal bushmeat trade, for which chimpanzees and other non-domesticated animals are hunted and killed for human consumption. One to two million chimpanzees lived in Africa in 1900, while only about 150,000 free-living chimpanzees exist today, making them highly endangered.
Chimpanzees are genetically very similar to humans, sharing 98.76% of their genetic material. In fact, chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than they are to gorillas. Unfortunately, chimpanzees pay a high price for being our closest relatives. In captivity, they are subjected to various forms of exploitation and abuse.
There are approximately 2,500 chimpanzees currently living in the United States. Approximately 1,200 of them are used in biomedical research, and 600 are used for entertainment or kept as pets. Approximately 700 chimpanzees live in zoos and sanctuaries in the United States.
At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW), we are working to ensure that the number of chimpanzees exploited in biomedical research and entertainment will decrease as more sanctuary space is created. At CSNW, we believe that the physical, psychological, and emotional needs of the chimpanzees come first.
With a thorough understanding of chimpanzee behavior, caregivers can interpret the needs and wants of the chimpanzees they care for, and even use chimpanzee behaviors to facilitate better communication and enrich chimpanzee-human interactions.
As our web site expands, we will provide more information on free-living and captive chimpanzees and the issues that affect them. Below are fact sheets on chimpanzees used in entertainment, chimpanzees used in biomedical research, and chimpanzees exploited as pets. Please feel free to print and share them:
Below are links to other web sites with information about chimpanzees and other great apes:
- Save the Chimps provides a permanent sanctuary for the lifelong care of chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories, entertainment and the pet trade, and is the largest sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees in the world.
- Center for Great Apes provides a permanent sanctuary in a safe and enriching environment for orangutans and chimpanzees in need of long-term life care.
- Chimps Inc. is dedicated to furthering chimpanzee conservation through education. The sanctuary provides a place of refuge for those apes that have come from roadside zoos, entertainment industry and the private sector.
- The Fauna Foundation works to provide rescue and a permanent home for animals that have been used, neglected, abused or rejected by humans. Fauna is the only sanctuary in Canada and the first to accept chimpanzees who had been used in HIV research.
- Friends of Washoe cares for chimpanzees who have been taught the signs of American Sign Language and is dedicated to establishing peace between the human species and all the other members of creation
- Great Ape Project is an international group founded to work for the global removal of non-human great apes from the category of mere property, and for their immediate protection through the implementation of basic legal principles designed to provide them with the right to life, the freedom of liberty, and protection from torture.
- The Jane Goodall Institute was founded by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall. JGI is a global nonprofit that empowers people to make a difference for all living things. There is extensive information on the site about chimpanzee behavior.
- Project R&R - Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories - is a campaign of the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) with the goal of ending the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research.
CSNW is active on a variety of social networking sites including Twitter, Ning, Facebook, and MySpace. Help get the word out by joining us below!
