For nearly three decades, a chimpanzee named Vanilla had never seen the sky without bars or a roof in the way. In 2023, a video from a Florida sanctuary showed the moment that changed.
From a Lab to a Cage Top
Vanilla spent her early years at a biomedical research laboratory in New York, where chimpanzees were housed in small cages suspended off the ground like bird cages, about 5 by 5 by 7 feet. She was moved to a sanctuary in California when she was about two.
That sanctuary, Wildlife Waystation, gave her a place to live but not much freedom. According to Save the Chimps director Andrew Halloran, Vanilla lived with a handful of chimps in a chain-link cage with no grass and very little enrichment. Her enclosure had a cage top, so she never saw an unobstructed sky.
A Cross-Country Move
When Wildlife Waystation closed in 2019, its chimpanzees needed new homes. Save the Chimps, an organization in Fort Pierce, Florida, took in Vanilla, her sister Shake and a number of others, including Magic, Jeff and Ernesta. The chimps flew across the country on a cargo plane to Orlando, then rode about 120 miles in a climate-controlled truck to the sanctuary.
After a quarantine period, which is standard, they were gradually introduced to one of the sanctuary’s family groups, known as Late’s Family, on a 3-acre island.
The Moment She Stepped Outside
Shake bounded onto the island without hesitation. Vanilla, then 28, was more cautious. She sat in the doorway until Dwight, the group’s alpha male, opened his arms to encourage her. In the video, she leaps into his arms for a hug.
Once she ventured farther, Save the Chimps said, she stared up at the vast sky “for the first time in her life.” In her bio on the sanctuary’s website, Vanilla is described as “in awe of the open sky.”
Life on the Island
Vanilla and Shake have since become regulars on the island, soaking up the sun, exploring the grass and playing. She was described as shy at first, but she gets along with the other chimps in her group and has a playful relationship with Dwight. Save the Chimps says it cares for more than 200 chimpanzees.
How You Can Help Chimpanzees Like Vanilla
Sanctuaries rely on donations to care for chimpanzees that can live for decades. A few ways to support them:
- Donate or give monthly. Compare chimpanzee sanctuary donations and monthly giving programs.
- Adopt symbolically. Many sanctuaries offer animal adoption programs that fund food and care.
- Shop cruelty-free. Look for cruelty-free cosmetics and household products certified not to be tested on animals.
- Learn more. Books and documentaries about primates build awareness.
- Visit Florida’s Treasure Coast. Compare Fort Pierce vacation rentals and Florida travel packages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Vanilla? Vanilla is a chimpanzee who spent her early years in a New York research lab and later in a California sanctuary before moving to Save the Chimps in Florida.
How old was she when she saw the open sky? She was 28 years old.
Who is Dwight? Dwight is the alpha male of Vanilla’s family group, who encouraged her to step outside and gave her a hug.
Where does she live now? On a 3-acre island at the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Sources: WTSP, Live Science, Gray News, and Green Matters, all covering Vanilla the chimpanzee’s first sight of the open sky at Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, Florida, in 2023.
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