Center for Great Apes

The Center for Great Apes is a sanctuary for great apes located east of Wauchula, Florida. Its mission is to provide a permanent sanctuary for orangutans and chimpanzees who have been rescued or retired from the entertainment industry, from research, or from the exotic pet trade; to educate the public about captive great apes and the threats to conservation of great apes in the wild; and to advocate for the end of the use of great apes as entertainers, research subjects, and pets.

Center for Great Apes
Date opened	1993
Location	Wauchula, Florida
No. of animals	71
No. of species	27 Orangutans 44 Chimpanzees
Website	www.centerforgreatapes.org

The Center for Great Apes, the only accredited orangutan sanctuary in North America, provides lifetime care with dignity for orangutans and chimpanzees, both endangered species. It has earned the highest possible rankings from both Charity Navigator (4 Star), and Guidestar's Platinum Seal of Transparency. The Center, a private, non-profit, does not receive government funding and relies solely on the generosity of its members, private donors, and grants from foundations. The annual cost of caring for each ape including enrichment, nutrition, and medical, is approximately $36,000 per year. The sanctuary is a founding member of North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA)^[2] and is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.

Notable residents

• Bubbles – former companion of Michael Jackson.^[3][4]
• Bella^[5] – CareerBuilder 2004 Super Bowl XL campaign.^[6][7]
• Sam "Sammy"^[8] (former) – starred in the movie Dunston Checks In.^[9]
• Sandra – Orangutan declared a "non-human person" in Argentina after spending 20 years at Buenos Aires Zoo.^[10]
• Sunshine^[11] was born in England where her mother was owned by singer Tom Jones’ manager.
• Bo^[12] and Joe^[13] - formerly at CW Exotics facility featured in the Netflix series Tiger King.
• Marco^[14] is the oldest and smallest chimpanzee at the Center for Great Apes.
• Jonah^[15] and Jacob^[16] are twins. Jonah starred with Mark Wahlberg in the 2001 version of the Planet of the Apes and along with his twin brother worked in the original “Trunk Monkey” commercials.
• Mari,^[17] the orangutan, is one of several apes taken care of by the Center for Great Apes who have special needs. Mari lost both arms as an infant before arriving at the sanctuary.
• Knuckles,^[18] a chimpanzee, had cerebral palsy.
• Allie^[19] has Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), a condition, that in Allie's case, prevents the use of her legs or feet.

  

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Further reading