IPPL Celebrates 50 Years!

Our latest issue of IPPL News is now online. This celebratory issue includes How and Why Shirley formed IPPL in 1973 by John McGreal, stories from many other people who have known and worked with her for many years, and more. We hope you enjoy this special publication.

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Goodbye to Our Sweet Chloe

Our hearts are broken at the sudden passing of sweet Chloe on March 22, 2023. Originally a family pet, Chloe’s canine teeth were removed, leaving her with a permanent deformity. This is a cruel but common practice to avoid being bitten by wild primates that people have bought and then tried to domesticate. But they…

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Our Holiday Issue of IPPL News is Now Online!

This issue contains articles from many of our Global Partners including Colobus Conservation and the challenges they face, the horrific fires facing Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi in Bolivia, C.A.R.E’s orphaned baboons, Wildlife At Risk’s work to give primates a second chance, and a special article on orangutans and the palm oil industry provided by The…

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Shirley McGreal 1934 – 2021

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved founder, Dr. Shirley McGreal. Since the early 1970’s when she witnessed the horrific treatment of primates in Asia, Shirley has made it her life’s mission to help primates around the globe. As we mourn this loss, we also celebrate her life. Her…

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CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL GIBBON DAY!

Since 1994, IPPL has rescued dozens of gibbons, some originally wild caught who had the misfortune of then spending years, even decades, in research labs. Others were born in labs, spent years in zoos, tourist attractions or as pets. Currently IPPL has 30 exceptional gibbons living at our sanctuary. In addition to providing the best…

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WORLD GORILLA DAY

As of March 2020, the western gorilla is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with an estimated 125,000 remaining in the wild. The Eastern gorilla is also Critically Endangered, largely due to habitat loss and hunting. Some good news is that one subspecies of eastern gorilla, the mountain gorilla, has increased in number and is…

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International Primate Day!

INTERNATIONAL PRIMATE DAY! International Primate Day, September 1, is an annual educational observance event organized since 2005 largely by British-based Animal Defenders International (DI) and supported annually by various primate-orientated advocacy organizations around the world. Since 1973 IPPL has been actively engaged protecting and saving primates. These efforts include maintaining our gibbon sanctuary in Summerville,…

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World Orangutan Day!

To recognize the most iconic victim of the palm oil industry, International Orangutan Day has been set for August 19th, EVERY YEAR! This event is to help encourage the public to take action in preserving this amazing species. From 1992-2000, the population of the Sumatran orangutan is considered to have declined by more than 50%.…

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World Chimpanzee Day!

Today we celebrate these remarkable beings and raise awareness about the vital need for worldwide participation in their welfare, protection, and conservation. July 14, 1960, was the day Dr. Jane Goodall first stepped foot in what is now Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, to study wild chimpanzees. She began to call attention to the remarkable…

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An Unexpected Goodbye to Our Friend Blue

We have some very sad news to share with you. Blue, our beautiful Newfoundland, died unexpectedly after a swift and traumatic attack of bloat in June 12, 2021. He was rushed to a specialty clinic, but there was nothing that could be done. Blue had recently turned seven. Since Blue’s arrival at IPPL in August…

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Happy 62nd Birthday Gibby!

Today is a very special day at IPPL as we celebrate Gibby’s 62nd Birthday! Taken from his mother as a baby, he was sold to a research lab where, for years, he lived in a tiny cage and was the victim of daily, cruel locomotion experiments. In 2003 he was sent to a sanctuary where…

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Farewell Elizabeth | Jan 20, 2021

Elizabeth was born at a tourist attraction in Florida in June 1984. Her gibbon family was living on an island in the Silver River and jungle cruise boats would pass by daily. One day, a cruise boat guide noticed a baby gibbon being neglected. Staff removed her from the island and, for a time, staff…

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GIVING TUESDAY IS HERE!

Today is Giving Tuesday  –  a day dedicated to making a difference for non-profits around the world. This year, more than ever, IPPL is asking for your help to continue to provide the best of care for 32 charismatic gibbons. Please help us reach our goal of $12,000 before midnight. YOU can make the difference…

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Farewell Cathy

Cathy was born in March of 2000. In 2007 she and her parents, Erin and Ziggy, arrived from a sanctuary in Texas. Cathy lived with her parents for five more years, but in 2012 it became clear that Cathy was ready to move on so we moved her to a gibbon house next to handsome…

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Goodbye to Our Dear Tong

We have some very sad news to share with you. Our dear Tong Gibbon died on September 29, 2020 at the age of 50. As a baby, Tong was purchased at a market in Cambodia by a man working for Air America, a CIA operation which flew planes on bombing missions over Laos and Cambodia.…

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The June issue of IPPL News is online now!

IPPL’s latest issue of IPPL News is now available on our website. There are many interesting articles including some from our overseas partners telling us how they are surviving during COVID-19. With income seriously curtailed, we hope our readers will want to help by making a donation which will be shared equally among the organizations.…

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Shirley McGreal, founder of IPPL, receives Elizabeth Bradham Humanitarian Award

January 26, 2020 the Charleston Animal Society celebrated 146 years of preventing cruelty to animals at Blackbaud World Headquarters in North Charleston. Before hundreds of supporters, including IPPL staff and friends, the Animal Society presented two significant awards. The Community Ambassador Award went to Blackbaud, Inc. The Elizabeth Bradham Humanitarian Award was given to Dr.…

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Remembering Blackie

Today we would like to remember a very special gibbon named Blackie. Blackie began his life in the jungles of Thailand where he was caught and sold to a wildlife dealer when he was just a baby. Shortly after this traumatic experience he was sold to a lab in the northern United States before being…

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Giving Day for Apes 2019

You are invited to be part of Giving Day for Apes! Love gibbons? Then we hope you will join the festivities.  Please mark your calendars for October 15, 2019.  What is Giving Day for Apes? Good question. It’s not just any day or any campaign. While IPPL supporters know that every day is a great…

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Farewell to Our Sweet Blackie

Our hearts broke when we had to say goodbye to sweet Blackie – our very special little gibbon. Blackie was born in the jungles of Thailand. Wild caught, he ended up with an animal dealer who exported him to the US where he would be used in research for the next 20 years! In 1984…

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IPPL at CITES CoP18

Global Advocacy Update One of the most important meetings about protections for primates and other wildlife is current underway in Geneva, Switzerland: the 18th Conference of the Parties for the Convention International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES. Here’s a round up of some highlights from the conference so far. IPPL Delegation IPPL is well represented…

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LCRP saving chimps update

Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue & Protection saving orphaned chimps In the IPPL March Newsletter, there is a story about an organization doing remarkable work in West Africa caring for and saving orphaned chimps. Jim and Jenny Desmond, the founders of Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue Protection (LCRP), were hired to care for 66 chimpanzees in Libera. The chimpanzees…

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Summer Time in Summerville

Happy first day of summer from the gibbons and otters at IPPL. (Happy first day of winter to our friends at J.A.C.K., and the rest of the southern hemisphere.) It seemed very appropriate that we had this beautiful rainbow over Primate Lane to start off the summer. Some people say that the first day of…

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A Loris Named Shirley

We all know that Dr. Shirely McGreal has been working for over 45 years to preserve and protect primates. She also created a sanctuary for gibbons, the smallest of all the apes, in Summerville, SC. But are you aware there is another Shirley who lives in the forests of Java? It’s true – but there is…

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World Environment Day

IPPL is commemorating World Environment Day

IPPL is recognizing World Environment Day today, June 5, 2019. Part of protecting primates is protecting the planet. Whether that means protecting habitat at the IPPL sanctuary or supporting programs across the globe, environmentally-friendly practices are part of what we do. To commemorate @WorldEnvironmentDay, IPPL is highlighting the good work of organizations funded by our…

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IPPL’s Featured Gibbon Paen

Meet Paen   In the March Newsletter, IPPL’s Featured Gibbon was Paen. One of IPPL’s most lovable gibbons, Paen was born in a zoo in Little Rock, AR on October 20, 1985.  She lived in a few zoos while growing up including the Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park with other members of her family. …

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Ape Action Africa to the rescue

From a difficult start in life to thriving Imagine you are at home with your family and all of a sudden strangers arrive and turn your world upside down. Then you are dragged away in chains. Now imagine you are a 10-month infant. No one should ever have to go thru through an event like that,…

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Thanks to our volunteers at IPPL

Thanks to the Volunteers at IPPL This week is National Volunteer Week so we couldn’t miss the opportunity to brag about the volunteers at IPPL. We love our volunteers and the sanctuary greatly depends on all of them. IPPL has indoor as well as outdoor volunteers. Both groups are very important in aiding in the…

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Extra! Extra! Do we have news for you

IPPL News is back with its March 2019 issue! We have lots of exciting stories for our supporters and primate lovers. You will read about Shirley Loris named after IPPL’s very own Shirley! And about wonderful projects in Liberia (Sneak peek with the image above. Wowza! Right?), Ecuador, and Indonesia – and more. Chimpanzees? Check!…

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Protecting primates together

The last couple of weeks have been extra fun for the staff, otters, and gibbons! We’ve been fortunate to have Irene and Joseph from the Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary with us here at IPPL.  In addition to sharing their knowledge and great stories with us, they got a look at our operations and had the…

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Gibbon Songs of Gratitude to Crescent Homes

Recently, representatives from Crescent Homes visited the IPPL sanctuary. They presented a very special gift made through their GIVE Program for local charities. [su_slider source=”media: 6889,6890,6891,6892,6893″ width=”740″ height=”440″ autoplay=”4000″ speed=”2000″] Needless to say, we were thrilled to welcome the team to the sanctuary. So were the gibbons. As you can see in the photos, they…

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Farewell Arun Rangsi

We are all devastated to report the loss of our first lab gibbon, Arun Rangsi (“Ruie”) who was also Shirley McGreal’s  “heart gibbon.” He came to IPPL from the University of California, which used gibbons in viral cancer experiments that caused them great suffering and death. Born at the lab in 1979, his mother rejected…

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Farewell Satu

It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our beloved Satu otter. Satu, whose name means “one” in Malay, was born at the Singapore Zoological Gardens on April 4, 2001. In February of 2006, Satu and his brother Dua were sent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium where the two quickly became famous for…

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Farewell Uma

Once again, we shared the sad news that another IPPL gibbon had left us. Umatilla, affectionately called Uma, who was born September 5, 1985. She came to IPPL in March of 2007 with her mate Scrappy. This duo arrived from a sanctuary in Texas after having been confiscated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service…

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EVENT: Ensuring a Future for All Primates

We invite anyone who will be in the Houston area on October 19th to attend this incredible dinner at the Houston Zoo presented by the International Primate Protection League. Speakers include Dr. Shirley McGreal, Founder of IPPL, and Ian Redmond, renowned conservationist and former student of Dian Fossey. All proceeds will benefit IPPL’s international work…

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Blackie the Gibbon’s Guilty Pleasure

By Jennifer Buchanan, Lead Animal Caregiver As an animal caregiver at IPPL, part of my job includes food preparation and the feeding of our thirty-six gibbon residents.  Some of our gibbons have special diets.  For example, Blackie, one of our oldest gibbons who is estimated to be around 60 years old, is getting a little…

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Paen’s Journey to Becoming a Yogi

By Jaclyn Trayte, Vet Tech & Animal Caregiver Paen is one of the sweetest residents here at the International Primate Protection League.  She has a family of stuffed animal babies, which she carries around with her all day.  Her family consists of a pony, an elephant, a cow, a monkey, and a bear.  Whenever a…

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Goodbye, Sweet Bali

We are so sad to inform you that our dear, sweet Bali the otter has passed away.  Bali was born on August 8, 2003 at the Sunset Zoo in Kansas where he lived for a couple of years before he was transferred to the Columbus Zoo in Ohio. He came to IPPL in August of…

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Farewell E.T.

E.T.

A Sad Farewell at IPPL Everyone at IPPL is devastated at the loss of our 33 year old gibbon E.T. She was born in April 1984 at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates at Sterling Forest, New York. At six months of age, she and her parents Blackie and Penny reached IPPL…

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IPPL Announces New Executive Director

IPPL is thrilled to announce that we have hired a new Executive Director at our sanctuary!  Casey Taylor, J.D., comes to us with almost a decade of experience in nonprofit fundraising and management. Her passion for primates is unmistakable and we know she will carry on the mission of IPPL to preserve and protect primates…

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Farewell Dorothy

February 1, 2016 was a special day for a petite white-handed gibbon named Dorothy. It was the day she arrived at IPPL. After spending the last 40 years in in a northern zoo, and her mate had died, she was retired to the peaceful surroundings of our sanctuary and the company of other gibbons. After…

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URGENT – Animal Rights Conference Attendees – Aug 4-6. You can help the animals at Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand!

HELP SAVE THE ANIMALS AT WILDLIFE FRIENDS FOUNDATION OF THAILAND!  If you are at the Animal Rights Conference this weekend – Aug 4-6 – please go to the IPPL exhibit booth to sign this urgent petition! Since 2001 WFFT has fought the illegal pet trade and has been rescuing animals who are the victims of…

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Kajal’s Garden

Kajal is the 15 year old daughter of Lisa Schiller, who recently joined IPPL’s Board of Directors. Her dog, Chewie, a Newfoundland, is best friends with IPPL’s Newfoundland, Blue. This past year Kajal spent some time getting to know the gibbons at IPPL’s sanctuary when she visited with her mother. While volunteering to help prepare…

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Happy 33rd Birthday, Elizabeth!

It was in March 1985 that tiny Elizabeth Gibbon, then just nine months old, reached IPPL from the now-closed Silver Springs tourist facility in Florida. She was very small and her mother had rejected her soon after she was born. She was lovingly cared for by a caregiver named Joann. Finally the manager of Silver…

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Endangered Species Day

Endangered Species You May Never Have Heard Of! May 19, 2017, was ENDANGERED SPECIES DAY. If you asked someone who are the rarest primates, they would probably say gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, or orangutans, but they would be dead wrong! Among the most endangered wildlife species are many primates. The rarest apes of all are the…

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Farewell Helen

Helen arrived at IPPL in April of 1982. Originally she was intended to be a companion for Arun Rangsi but, when John McGreal went to pick her up at the now-defunct Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates in New York, there was a boy gibbon named Peppy in the next cage who was…

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Farewell Helen

Friday, March 24, 2017 was a sad day at IPPL. It was the day our beloved gibbon, Helen, left us. Helen was 37 years old, and such a lovely gibbon. She arrived at IPPL’s sanctuary on April 2, 1982. Originally she was intended to be a companion for Arun Rangsi but, when John McGreal went…

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An Otter Love Story!

Satu, (“One” in the Malaysia language) came to IPPL in 2009 from the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. He had been part of a one-year “Otters of the World” exhibit. Satu is an Asian short-clawed otter. For years, he shared his life at IPPL with Agape, a female, who had been a dentist’s pet –…

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Update from the IPPL CITES team

How the furniture you buy could affect primate conservation Many of the topics being discussed at this CITES Conference of the Parties 2016 do not seem at first glance to have any relation to primates. Yet, when we examined them further, we found that one of the timber issues coming up for discussion was actually…

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A historic moment for monkeys, Sep. 28, 2016

A historic moment for monkeys, September 28, 2016 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is an international treaty established to regulate trade in order to protect wildlife from over-exploitation. CITES was drawn up in 1973, the same year IPPL was founded, and it came into force two years later. IPPL has been…

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Farewell Kendra

Sweet Kendra was born at a Florida tourist attraction in 2000. She, her younger brother and parents lived there until 2013 when the facility closed and they needed a new home. It was wonderful news for this gibbon family and IPPL was thrilled to welcome them to our sanctuary. Life at IPPL was wonderful for…

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Happy Howl-o-Ween!

Our animal care staff have again come up with some spook-tacular treats for our gibbons’ annual Halloween veggie feast! Maynard dove for the pineapple before we had a chance to show it off to most of the other gibbons. But we forgave him: today is the sixth anniversary of his arrival at IPPL! Time to…

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Recovering from the rain

Last weekend, South Carolina experienced a “Thousand Year Flood,” as a low pressure system held in place by Hurricane Joaquin dumped over two feet of water in many parts of the state. We are grateful that we did not experience the same level of damage as some of our fellow South Carolinians, especially those in…

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Painting for Primates 2

IPPL supporters got in touch with their artistic side last Friday at a creative fundraiser that also honored our adorable gibbons.   The Art Place is a new do-it-yourself studio in the Charleston area that is also open for charity events. The owner, Vanessa Steele, kindly offered to donate proceeds from the entire day’s worth of…

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Banana pops

It’s officially fall now, but for the most part it still feels like summer. Lately the gibbons have been enjoying frozen banana pops as enrichment—our special recipe.   We had lots of very ripe bananas among our donated pallets of Costco produce recently, and in the warm weather those babies just don’t keep well, so…

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All chimpanzees are now endangered

And that’s actually good news! As of yesterday, all chimpanzees in the U.S. are now classified as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). That wasn’t always the case. In 1990, wild chimpanzees were classified as fully “endangered” under the ESA and entitled to full protection under the law. But captive chimps—in the U.S. alone—were…

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Speaking up for lab monkeys

Today is the last day to submit a comment in support of a Rulemaking Petition to improve conditions for U.S. lab monkeys. This opportunity (which had been extended two months) expires at 11:59 PM, so don’t delay, and please share with your friends. Here’s a sample comment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Please feel…

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An Ethiopian travelogue (with monkeys)

Baboons and birds, colobus monkeys and carnivores, hyenas and humans. Former IPPL volunteer Christian Runnels stopped by the IPPL sanctuary last week to give a presentation to our staff on his encounters with wildlife in Ethiopia, where he lived for two years.   It’s a great country for primate watching, judging by the photos he…

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Do the Funky Gibbon!

How would you like to dance your way to primate protection? It’s easy if you do the Funky Gibbon: here’s how!   Download or listen to the 1970s hit single “The Funky Gibbon” via Amazon, iTunes, or Spotify, and IPPL will get a donation that we can use to help care for gibbons at our…

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Farewell Glenda

Glenda came to IPPL on May 13, 2013 along with her family: her mate Gary, their daughter Kendra, and son Thai. A Silver Springs, Florida tourist attraction where she and Gary had lived most of their lives was being turned into a State Park. It was urgent that 450 animals, including four gibbons, be re-located…

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Invisible apes

We recently received an interesting book from (and written by) Dr. John Steckley, a Canadian anthropology professor who is primarily an expert in some pretty obscure human stuff–he is the last known speaker of the Wyandot (or Huron) language. But, as he states in the opening pages of “Gibbons: The Invisible Apes,” perhaps he is naturally…

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Look for IPPL at animal rights conference

IPPL is again a Silver Sponsor of the Animal Rights National Conference, an annual bonanza of practical information, inspiring speakers, and networking opportunities for animal rights activists across the country and beyond. The organizers (Farm Animal Rights Movement) note that this conference is also “the world’s largest and longest-running animal rights gathering, hailing back to…

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From chimpanzees to gibbons

Renate Winch knows a lot about chimpanzees. She even knows the secret to hippopotamus bliss (scratch them behind the ears). But this week was her first encounter with a sanctuary full of gibbons. Although she has been an IPPL supporter since the 1990s, her long-time residence in Africa meant that she has not had a…

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Homegrown peppers

Hot, hot, hot! It’s hot here in South Carolina, but don’t worry Whoop-Whoop, our homegrown sweet peppers are NOT!   The last couple of years we have been trying to grow some additional produce on the IPPL grounds.         For years we have done this successfully with fruit. Muscadine grapes have always…

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You can help monkeys in research!

[Update 6/29/15: The deadline has been extended to August 31, 2015, 11:59 PM! There’s still time to file a comment on the government Web site!] You have a unique opportunity to make life better for lab monkeys! There are an estimated 110,000 monkeys living in U.S. research facilities. Of course, we feel they don’t belong…

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We’re keeping our cool!

Yes, we finally have a new cooler! Thanks to the success of our crowdfunding campaign on LoveAnimals.org, we have been able to purchase and install a new second cooler for our fruits and veggies in our Animal Care Cottage. The cottage is where our daily food preparation for the gibbons takes place.   Prior to…

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