The HSUS

Kitty, one of three chimpanzees at Black Beauty Ranch

Kitty, Lulu and Midge, three chimpanzees formerly used in research, who call the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas their home have just reached an important milestone—ten years of retirement from laboratories. The occasion was marked by a celebration involving ranch staff and a special watermelon “cake” for the three fortunate chimpanzees. Lulu was methodical and ate every last bite, as did Midge. Kitty took hers to a place overlooking the others and embraced the celebration with her face fully inside the bowl. Excited food grunts were made by all.

Watch the Chimpanzees at Black Beauty Ranch Celebration  video and Black Beauty Ranch Chimp Photos

It is a well-deserved retirement for the chimps, who came to the sanctuary from biomedical research laboratories. Even though they will never be able to live in their natural African habitat, they are lucky to be able to 'retire' from their research lives.

Approximately 1,200* chimpanzees remain in laboratories throughout the United States. Some are subjected to painful and distressful experiments and never have a chance to set foot on grass or perform many of their natural behaviors.

According to Richard Farinato, director of CABBR who spends every day with them, “For chimps in captivity, especially those that were used in research, what is most  important is providing an environment that allows them choices and provides them opportunities to behave as naturally as possible.” 

The HSUS

Kitty, at Black Beauty Ranch

Kitty

Kitty, believed to be 45 years old, leads the trio at Black Beauty Ranch. She was retired to become a companion for a then-lonely and depressed chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky. Nim—a chimpanzee well known for his use in language acquisition studies—had recently lost his chimpanzee companion, Sally Jones, and he needed a new friend. After thorough assessment, Kitty was chosen.

Like many other chimpanzees in laboratories, Kitty's origins are unknown, and she may have been captured from the wild. Before she arrived at the Ranch, she was a breeder chimp for the infamous and now defunct Coulston Foundation in Alamogordo, N.M. 

During her days as a breeder, Kitty was pregnant 14 times and successfully reared four of her offspring. The other 10 infants were taken away to be hand-reared for laboratory use. One of her sons, Dar es-Salaam, is a well-known sign language chimp who now lives at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute in Ellensburg, Wash. Kitty was fortunate in that she was only used briefly in biomedical studies investigating Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogs, a type of hormone therapy.

According to her caretakers at the ranch, Kitty seems to be enjoying her retirement, despite Nim's passing in March of 2000. Her favorite foods are mints, grapes and watermelon. She enjoys playing with items she can manipulate such as nail clippers, barrettes and pliers. She also likes boots, shoes, gloves and socks, and will put them on if she can. One of her least favorite things is thunderstorms. During storms, she hides in her loft with a blanket over her head, but she'll peek out from under the blanket if her caretakers ask where she is. They also report that Kitty can be very suspicious of others, which may be a result of her years in the laboratory setting.

Learn more about Kitty's release from Coulston and her recent reunion with a former caretaker.

The HSUS

LuLu at Black Beauty Ranch

Lulu and Midge

Lulu and Midge were retired to Black Beauty Ranch from New York University's Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates when it permanently closed in 1997. Like Kitty, the two were recruited to be companions for Nim.

Their somewhat incomplete laboratory medical records indicate that Lulu and Midge were housed together and used in hepatitis B vaccine trials and possibly in HIV research. When the laboratory closed, all of the chimpanzees there were scheduled to go to the infamous Coulston Foundation. However, some concerned researchers rescued and placed 115 chimpanzees in sanctuaries throughout the United States. Lulu and Midge came to the Ranch as part of that fortunate group.

Lulu, estimated to be 43 years old, may have been caught in the wild. The Black Beauty Ranch staff believes she lived with humans early in her life, because she knows how to use a toilet, wash her hands, wear clothes, brush her teeth and wipe her mouth with a napkin. She enjoys sweet food such as pineapple, grapes and oranges. She loves food so much, that if she feels she is not getting her fair share from her caretakers, she will fill her mouth with water and spit it at them.

The HSUS

Midge at Black Beauty Ranch

Midge, the chimp at the bottom of the small hierarchy, is the lone male in the group of three. He is also the most agreeable, according to his caretakers. He wants to spend his days running, playing and making noise like an adolescent, but he is believed to be 32 years old. He prefers to make noise by pushing the plastic furniture in his indoor enclosure along the floor and into walls. Tug-of-war is Midge's favorite game, and while he enjoys many types of music, loud rock-n-roll seems to be his favorite.

Kitty, Lulu and Midge are enjoying their years in retirement. They can do many things they weren't able to do in the laboratory setting such as make "nests" out of their blankets and play in their new outdoor enclosure. But these three chimpanzees are a lucky rarity when compared to the nearly 1,200 chimpanzees still in U.S. laboratories today.

“Some chimps have lived in laboratories for over 40 years. We need to get them to sanctuary before their time runs out,” says Kathleen Conlee, director of program management for animal research issues for The HSUS . “They deserve a safe haven like Kitty, Lulu and Midge.

Visit humanesociety.org/chimps to find out what you can do to help all of these chimpanzees get a well-deserved retirement before it's too late.