Escapees November-December 2022

skp stops

Keithville, Louisiana 13600 Chimpanzee Pl, Keithville, LA 71047 318-9259575, chimphaven.org

technologies, the use of chimpanzees in human disease research declined in the 1990s. In 2,000, the CHIMP Act (Chimpanzee Health Improvement Maintenance Protection Act) established the Federal Sanctuary System. In that same year, The Parish of Caddo, Louisiana, offered forested land nestled in the Eddie D. Jones Nature Park to build the sanctuary. “That’s why we’re here in Louisiana,” she says. “The chimps live in large social groups in spacious, outdoor habitats where they can live out their lives in a setting that affords them greater freedoms.” In 2005, the fi rst two chimpanzee residents, Rita and Teresa, came to live at Chimp Haven. Today there are 325 chimpanzees living out their lives with complete freedom to do what chimpanzees do. There are nearly 70 employees responsible for their overall care. I follow her into a wooded area where we board a golf cart and head out on tour. "There are 200 acres here, too many to tour on foot," she says. As we ride along, Diane explains there are different types of habitats best suited for the chimps. “There are chimps who had never walked on grass before they arrived here. We like to say that not everyone wants to retire to Florida, so we make provisions for every situation.”

Even from the gate I can hear the calls of chimpanzees nearby. I am at Chimp Hav en in rural Caddo Township, just south of Shreveport, Louisiana. Moments later Diane Radlo ff greets me. She tells me about this remarkable facility by explaining its history and importance before starting my tour. “I n 1995, to respond to the need for long-term chimpanzee care, we began looking for land in Texas,” Diane, Chimp Haven Communications and Development Specialist, begins. "Chimpan zees were no longer used in biomedical research, the entertainment industry or the pet trade and needed a place to just be chimps again. Nearly all of the chimpan zees currently at Chimp Haven were formerly used in biomedical research.” Before this decision, chimps, genetically more closely related to humans than any other species, had been attractive to many researchers because of their physio logical and behavioral similarities. In the 1980s, the U.S. government launched an intensive breeding program. The offspring were the intended research subjects for hepatitis and HIV stud ies. However, with new research models and developing

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ESCAPEES Magazine November/December 2022