Chimpanzees have long been involved in human biomedical research because of their remarkable physical and behavioral similarities with humans. In the 1980s, the U.S. government initiated a chimpanzee breeding program with the intent of using the offspring as subjects for research on HIV, hepatitis, and other diseases.
The 1990s saw a decline in the use of chimpanzees as advances in research models and technologies made them increasingly unnecessary. But what to do with the many chimps already in the system? It became apparent a retirement program of sorts was needed, and in 1995, the first federally funded sanctuary specifically for chimpanzees owned by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), known as Chimp Haven, was established on 200 forested acres in Keithville, LA.
Chimp Haven was given a boost in 2000 with passage of the Chimpanzee Health Improvement Maintenance Protection (CHIMP) Act, which established the Federal Sanctuary System to care for retired chimps used in biomedical research. In 2007, the Chimp Haven is Home Act closed a loophole in the CHIMP Act and effectively prohibited chimpanzees retired from biomedical research from being returned to laboratories.
A growing population
The first two chimpanzees to call Chimp Haven home, Rita and Teresa, arrived in 2005. Today, more than 300 chimpanzees live there in an estimated 30 groups, ranging from three to 20 members, says Raven Jackson. DVM, director of Veterinary Care at Chimp Haven. The youngest chimp is six years old, and the oldest is 64. To avoid unwanted pregnancies, most of the females are on contraceptives, and males receive a vasectomy upon admission.
Dr. Jackson pursued her childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian believing her future lay in small-animal medicine. That changed when she took a wildlife ecology course during an internship at the Montgomery (AL) Zoo and found herself working with chimpanzees.
“I thought, wow, this species is so intricate. If I could just do chimps, that would be great,” says Jackson, who joined Chimp Haven in 2010. “I’m happy the trajectory of my life has afforded me the opportunity to do that.”
Chimp Haven strives to give its simian wards their best lives possible. “We do our best to emulate the true environment that the chimps would live in naturally,” says clinical veterinarian DaShaunte Coleman, DVM, who joined Chimp Haven in 2021. “Outdoor habitats are connected to buildings so the chimps have a choice to be indoors or outdoors. They have given so much to society already, and our job is to make sure that they live out their days as comfortable and healthy as we possibly can.”
University of Arizona veterinary student, Jillian LaCroix-Martin, spent a month-long internship at the facility in 2023, and assisted in a variety of medical procedures. Her interest in the program stemmed from an earlier opportunity in Costa Rica in which she studied the communication styles of howler monkey troops. “That drew me into learning more about apes, New World monkeys, and Old World monkeys,” LaCroix-Martin says. “After that, I didn’t have any more exposure to it until I began veterinary school in 2021.”
After meeting with professors who specialized in exotic medicine, LaCroix-Martin started looking around for appropriate opportunities to work with apes and found Chimp Haven, which quickly exposed her to the unique healthcare needs of older chimpanzees.
“Once I met the staff, I realized the close relationships they have with the chimps there, which is a really cool thing to experience,” LaCroix-Martin says. “They know all of them by name, by personality, by medication, literally everything about them. Working on the medical side, I got to participate in about 20 physical exams, which included blood draws, heart monitoring, ultrasound, eye exams, and dental exams. It was so cool to do a full workup on a chimp.”
A day in the life
Providing medical care to more than 300 chimpanzees keeps Jackson and Coleman busy. Jackson’s day usually starts by conferring with the technicians responsible for distributing morning medications and discussing anything unusual they may have noticed among the various troops. “They’re looking for changes in behavior or any new wounds,” Jackson explains. “If a chimp needs a prescription, I will go ahead and fill that.”
Jackson then begins her personal rounds. “The benefit of my job is developing relationships with the chimps because they see me outside of their standard physical examinations,” she says. “They know I’m the veterinarian, and like little kids they will sometimes run up to me and show me their new wounds. If I see anything that’s different from the technicians, I will let them know. I keep a running case list of all of those items, which is shared with our animal care staff so they know the cases we’re looking at. They serve as an extension of the veterinary department.”
Bites, scratches, and other wounds are among the most common medical issues Jackson and Coleman address on a regular basis. “When chimps have altercations, obviously there’s a bit of wounding that goes along with that,” Coleman says. “I have a background in emergency medicine, so I’m used to dealing with trauma. I’m glad I could bring that skill set.”
Every chimpanzee at Chimp Haven currently receives an annual physical examination, which adds to Jackson’s and Coleman’s already heavy workload. “When we do these examinations, we schedule four or five chimps per day,” Jackson says. “We triage them to determine if there’s any advancement or presentation of a new disease process, then we prescribe medications as necessary.”
The average age of the chimpanzees at Chimp Haven is 35, which is also the age the species is considered geriatric. As such, much of the veterinary care provided by Jackson and Coleman addresses common age-related ailments ranging from arthritis to diabetes to cardiovascular disease, a condition very prevalent within the species. So much so, in fact, that Chimp Haven is expanding its cardiology program, Jackson says.
LaCroix-Martin developed an interest in veterinary cardiology in veterinary school and put that interest to good use during her internship at Chimp Haven. “Heart disease is the number one killer of great apes, and we’re trying to learn more about it because it’s a different presentation than in humans,” she says. “At Chimp Haven I was allowed to follow some of the cardiac cases on chronic medication and see how they treat them and monitor their progress. It was pretty cool to be a part of that.”
Treating cage-side
Renal disease and hepatic disease are also quite common. The latter is often related to a chimp’s involvement in biomedical research. “We have to manage all of these disease processes on a daily basis,” Coleman says. “We often give medications cage-side because a large portion of our chimp population has been behaviorally trained to present to mesh, which means I can do physical examinations and provide medications at the side of the cage without having to sedate them.” In many cases, Coleman adds, the prescribed medications are the same as those used to treat human patients.
Providing medical care to chimpanzees poses a lot of challenges. They can weigh up to 170 lbs and possess the strength of several men, so they must be approached with care. In addition, chimps live in hierarchal groups, with an alpha animal in charge. A chimp cannot be removed from its group for an extended period without potentially jeopardizing its status within the hierarchy.
“Whenever we access an animal, we have to think about their station within its group,” Coleman explains. “We often consult with our behavior department to determine if a particular chimp needs to come out alone, how long it can be out of its group, and more. It’s important for us to understand where they fit in within their group when we’re treating them. Our goal is to return them to their group as quickly as possible because the longer they are away, the higher the potential for a disruption with their ranking.”
Luckily, chimpanzees tend to be fast healers, Coleman adds. “They are very resilient animals. They can get a wound and if you give them some time with second intention healing, they will heal well. We just allow their bodies to do their jobs and give them the support they need.”
Of course, chimpanzees are curious by nature, and often quickly undue the work done by the veterinary team, pulling off bandages and picking at stitches. “Unlike dogs, we can’t put a collar on them,” Coleman jokes.
On the personal side
Working at Chimp Haven has challenged Jackson and Coleman in a very positive way and helped them to become better practitioners. “My alma mater, Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, taught me to think outside the box, and that has allowed me to thrive here at Chimp Haven,” says Jackson. “I always must have my head on a swivel and think outside the norm, because there are a lot of dynamics that you wouldn’t typically see in a small-animal practice. I believe that has made me a much better practitioner because there’s nothing I’m not willing to try.”
Coleman’s previous position in emergency medicine made it difficult for her to bond with her patients. Chimp Haven, she says, has “allowed me the opportunity to experience the human-animal bond in a different way. It has allowed me to open my heart a little bit and become more fully invested in the recovery process of my patients and help them move on to live their best lives. For me, that’s the biggest thing I’ve gained working here.”
In many ways, Chimp Haven is an all-inclusive retirement resort for chimpanzees. “Once they make it here, they’ve made it to the sweet life,” Coleman says. “After giving so much, they are able to relax, and we take care of all their needs.”
Don Vaughan is an award-winning writer who frequently writes about veterinary-related topics.