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| Fauna Foundation |
| Born in Africa, Annie was used for biomedical research and breeding |
The following memorials honor chimpanzees who were used in biomedical research and testing. Some made it to sanctuary. Others died in the laboratory. The memorials were written by laboratory workers who got to know these chimpanzees personally. This information is reprinted here with permission from the Laboratory Primate Advocacy Group. Additional memorials can be found on their website.
Remembering: Annie, Atlanta, Fred Astaire, Gogo, Jerom, Pablo
ANNIE
In memory of Annie Chimpanzee (1960-2002). She began her life in Africa. She spent her younger years in entertainment, and then ended up at the Primate Foundation of Arizona (PFA). She was later leased and finally sold to the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). She served in the breeding program there and had the dubious distinction of being the first successfully artificially inseminated chimpanzee. She gave birth to a daughter named Wotoni, who now lives at PFA.
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| Fauna Foundation |
Annie was a beloved mother figure to chimpanzees and
humans at Fauna |
After years of life in the laboratory, she was finally given permanent retirement to the Fauna Foundation in Quebec, Canada. She immediately became the matriarch of the group and the beloved mother figure to the chimpanzees as well as the humans at Fauna. She had the strength, the stubbornness, and the courage that her tough life had forced into her, but her body couldn't fight as hard as her will.
Her years in research caught up with her on January 10, 2002. Her loss will be felt for years to come.
ATLANTA
In loving memory of Atlanta Chimpanzee (1965-2000). Atlanta Chimpanzee was the first chimpanzee born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She spent her entire life at Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, the last 16 years of which she was a well-loved member of a large social group of chimpanzees. Her wisdom, patience, and guidance were a positive influence on her family and friends. She had an enormous love of food, which unfortunately led to extreme obesity. Her body eventually succumbed to crippling osteoarthritis. Despite best attempts to treat her condition, Atlanta died on December 21, 2000. She is survived by a son, Rhett, and granddaughter Azalea. Those who knew her mourn her departure from this earth, but celebrate that she is finally free.
FRED ASTAIRE
Fred Astaire, a very dark colored uniquely handsome chimp in his late twenties, did not cope well in biomedical research. Years of research and being singly housed left him depressed and emotionally challenged to the point of exhibiting self-directed, destructive behaviors similar to those that can occur among institutionalized humans. On a regular basis, Fred would bite chunks out of his forearm. This caused him to need medication to reduce his anxiety. There were times when I would visit him that I couldn't even coax him to come to the front of the cage for a hello and a rub. He would just lie in the back of his tiny cage and look at you, as if he had given up on life and humanity.
Towards the end of my time working with him, Fred was moved to a brighter unit and out of the thick subway-grating cage with limited visibility that he was regularly housed in. His new caretaker and I tried to provide more social and physical contact for him through our visits as did one of our volunteers since he was still caged alone. Though the volunteer was only there a few times a month, her visits with Fred would last nearly one half hour. He started to respond. It seemed as if he was harming himself less. He even played a bit during some visits and began to solicit attention more often. We were hopeful that his medication could be reduced at some point. He needed more than just a "drive by" visit, which is what caretakers are often limited to due to their workload. Though most of the chimps there were singly housed, Fred was particularly fragile.
I so wished that Fred Astaire would make it out to retirement somewhere. In a sanctuary, his problems could be worked with more intensely, progress could be made, and his preciousness could be appreciated. It's usually impossible to completely undo such psychological damage but delicate animals like Fred need to be given that chance to heal. But Fred Astaire did not dance his way into retirement; he ended up in yet another research facility—the Coulston Foundation—where he died within two years.
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| Crystal Miller-Spiegel |
| Many chimpanzees die before making it to sanctuary |
GOGO
Gogo was one of the 46 chimps being retired from the Baxter lab in Austria. He even made the move to the wonderful new primate establishment, H.O.P.E (Home of Primates Europe) in the middle of a forest in north east Austria. He died before even enjoying the relative freedom of the indoor living area that I had helped construct for him.
I first met Gogo inside the lab where he, years before, had been infected with the hepatitis C virus. He was the first of the 46 chimps to offer me a kiss. Being very selective about which carers he liked and didn't like, I felt tremendously flattered that I counted amongst those that he was fond of. I, in turn, was extremely fond of him, and we shared much time together.
Gogo became ill in the early winter of 2002. He lost all his energy and often had fever. He trembled when he moved and was obviously experiencing a lot of pain. The vets from the University of Vienna were mystified and ran all possible tests on him. At one point it was thought that he may have had a slipped disk.
The move out of the lab was stressful for Gogo. He had his friend and cell mate Carmen with him who was extremely protective towards him. Gogo died in his sleeping room at 7pm on January 17th 2003. His post-mortem revealed that he had suffered from Osteomyelitis in his spine.
Our exciting retirement project continues, but with a very important person missing.
JEROM
Of all the monkeys and chimpanzees we've seen come and go, there will always be a special place in our hearts for Jerom Chimpanzee. In the years since his death, he has been remembered on the anniversary of his passing:
1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Read more about his life [PDF]
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| Fauna Foundation |
| Pablo, lived out his retirement at the Fauna Foundation Sanctuary |
PABLO
For Pablo (1970-2001). Pablo Chimpanzee was born in Africa, spent some years in entertainment where his teeth were pulled and filed, was briefly at the University of Oklahoma where he was called P.B., then was sold to the Laboratory for Experimental Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). Pablo's life in the lab was filled with anxiety. He was referred to as a 'hard core research animal' at LEMSIP. He never took a needle, and was darted for each of his 220 knockdowns. He was hysterical at the sight of medical equipment and would thrash around his cage and cause himself to hyperventilate.
He spent 6 years at the Buckshire Corporation and when he was returned to LEMSIP, he was injected with 10,000 times the infectious dose of HIV. He was retired to the Fauna Foundation sanctuary in Quebec, Canada when LEMSIP closed down in 1997. He never tested positive for HIV, but his use and abuse in the laboratory marked his body in other ways.
He died on October 6, 2001 at 31 years of age. His internal body was riddled with adhesions, scars, and infection. The pathologist couldn't believe he had lived as long as he had.
Pablo lived for two things in life: food and friends. At Fauna he found both of these in plenitude and his last four years were spent eating, playing, and gazing at the female chimpanzees. He deserved so much more. We at Fauna will miss his giant lips, his throaty laugh, and his infectious food grunts.
