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M E D I A C E N T E R Fact Sheet Established in 1997 under the leadership of Carole Noon, Ph.D., Save the Chimps Director, with the encouragement of other noted primatologists Jane Goodall and Roger Fouts who serve on the STC Board of Directors. STC was the first sanctuary in the United States devoted exclusively to chimpanzees and now is the largest permanent chimpanzee sanctuary in the world, providing lifetime care for chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories and owners no longer able to provide adequate care. More than 300 chimpanzees, now in the custody of STC, will make their home on 200 acres of land in North St. Lucie County, Florida. The sanctuary's first inhabitants were 21 Air Force Chimpanzees, used in the early NASA Space Program to test the effect of space travel on humans, whose custody was awarded to Save The Chimps in 1998 after a year-long legal battle with the USAF. STC acquired an additional 266 chimps by purchasing the notorious Coulston Foundation Laboratory in Alamogordo, NM in 2001. These chimps will also be permanent residents of the Florida sanctuary as facilities there are completed. Phase One, with the first 3-acre island-home for the 21 Air Force Chimps, is complete at the Florida sanctuary and includes administrative facilities, an introduction building where the chimpanzees are brought initially to begin socialization with each other, and indoor accommodations. Resident chimpanzees live in a secure and enriching environment with social companions and the opportunity to express natural behaviors. Phase Two, under way, is the construction of five three-acre islands and adjoining indoor buildings. Phase Three construction of the remaining six islands is expected to start in Summer 2004. As these facilities are completed, the chimpanzees will move from New Mexico to their new home and permanent retirement in Florida. Plans for the Save the Chimps Florida sanctuary include an educational center to educate the public about chimpanzee behavior, culture and life cycle, as well as threats they face as endangered species in the wild. Although the center does not wish to disturb the chimpanzees in their new environment, it is considering a proposition to allow the placement of close circuit television cameras for researchers to observe them. Also located in or near the educational center will be the Space Chimp Museum, full of artifacts, photos and exhibits related to chimps used in the space program. The California Science Museum has already loaned Save The Chimps a full-size mock-up of the Mercury capsule that took both Ham and, later, John Glenn into space. Save the Chimps has received the support of a dozen former Astronauts including Capt. Jim Lovell (USAF ret.) and Col. Buzz Aldrin (USAF ret.) | |||||||||||||||
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