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…
Read MoreThank you for loving animals!
This week we wrapped up our crowdfunding campaign on LoveAnimals.org: we have reached—and even surpassed—our $4,000 goal! Now we will be able to put those funds toward a new additional cooler to store the bonanza of donated produce we have been getting from Costco. Many, many thanks to our wonderful supporters (including several anonymous friends—you know…
Read MoreGibbon art DIY for World Environment Day
Today is World Environment Day, designated by the United Nations as a day of outreach, a “people’s day” of “doing something positive for the environment.” This year’s theme is “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care.” Well, have you ever dreamed about getting in touch with the natural world through art? That’s what Maui…
Read MoreApe Action Africa: Volunteer update
Ape Action Africa is one of the largest primate sanctuaries on the continent, and IPPL is proud to help support the wonderful rescue work the AAA staff is doing in Cameroon. AAA (formerly the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund) makes use of many volunteers, and last week the IPPL Headquarters Sanctuary was host to one of…
Read MoreOur Boeing volunteers: day after day of caring
On Saturday we were glad to welcome back to the IPPL sanctuary a volunteer team from Boeing. We had a group of Boeing employees (plus a few family members) come out to help with some time-consuming tasks (like bleaching our indoor and outdoor enclosures) and some regular tasks that need to be done every day…
Read MoreHow many kinds of primates are there, anyway?
Today is the 10th annual Endangered Species Day, and primates are (unfortunately) prime poster children for it. There are a lot of primates—but they are in a lot of trouble. How many kinds of primates are there? When I first started studying these amazing animals back in the 1980s, there were supposedly a little over 200 distinct…
Read More“Chimpanzee funeral” photographer visits IPPL
By now it’s an Internet meme: the photo of a group of chimpanzees lined up silently in self-evident grief at the death of their community leader and friend, Dorothy. Monica Szczupider snapped that picture in 2008 at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon, where she was a volunteer at the time. The sanctuary’s founder,…
Read MoreThanks to Costco…
…we have a terrific new “problem” here at the IPPL gibbon sanctuary. For the past few weeks, we have been getting such generous donations of fresh fruit and veggies from our favorite bulk grocery store, that we don’t know where to put it all! Here’s how it started. About a month ago, we…
Read MoreHappy Earth Day 2015!
It’s the day to get your green on! The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin established this day to inspire people to take action for the planet and confront environmental challenges great and small. Now the movement is an international one, with the Earth Day Network holding…
Read MoreTalking gibbonish
Gibbons are well known for their vocal expertise. In most species of gibbon, a mated male and female will duet loudly on a regular basis. Their songs can be heard up to a mile away, under the right conditions. This kind of communication is thought to help defend their territory and establish their presence as a…
Read MoreSpring has sprung!
At IPPL, we are glad that the bipolar weather of March is behind us, and the warmer weather of April has brought happy smiles to all our faces. In addition to the sunshine, we have been experiencing a welcome profusion of blooms around the IPPL sanctuary. For the past several weeks, the daffodils planted…
Read MoreVote and win! Who will be Mia’s prime-mate?
Mia is the newest arrival at our gibbon sanctuary. A charming, fluffy, 23-year-old widow newly retired from Mississippi’s Jackson Zoo, she came to IPPL March 13. And she’s ready for love! But who will be the lucky bachelor? She has four to choose from: Louie-Louie, Maynard, Gus, and Spanky. Guess correctly who she’ll choose,…
Read MoreMama Mia!
We are delighted to announce some great news: we have a new gibbon at the IPPL sanctuary! Mia is being retired from the Jackson Zoo in Mississippi. Her previous mate, a gentle soul named Cookie Man, sadly passed away last June. That left Mia a widow. In addition, she had proved to be incapable…
Read MoreGabi, the gibbon ambassador
Last week we were delighted to receive a visit from the director of the Gibbon Conservation Center, located in Santa Clarita, California. Gabriella Skollar managed to dodge the iffy weather we’ve been enduring on the East Coast to give a presentation to our animal care staff and share her experiences. It was a rare bi-coastal…
Read MoreIt’s the Year of the Gibbon!
The lunar calendar may have just ushered in the Year of the Sheep, but according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2015 is actually the International Year of the Gibbon. And it’s not a moment too soon. If you include the larger-bodied but closely-related siamangs, as many as 19 species of gibbons…
Read MoreNothing says Valentine’s Day like a pair of happy gibbons!
Among the apes, gibbons are the best representatives of true love. Gibbons are unique among all our nearest kin in that they are monogamous (or nearly so, anyway). Although we are gradually learning more about the variety of social behavior seen in wild primates, same-sex adult gibbons generally do not tolerate each other’s close…
Read MoreU.S. primate import statistics for 2014
1. Imports are up 20 percent. For the second year in a row, primate imports into the United States have increased. And not just a little bit. In 2014, the United States imported about 4,000 more primates than in 2013. That’s 23,465 monkeys and apes—as opposed to 19,466 in 2013 and 17,488 in 2012. …
Read MoreBioko Island: The next Costa Rica?
With 11 species of primates and large stretches of as-yet-unspoiled forest habitat, Bioko Island (which lies just 20 miles off the west coast of Africa) has the highest primate density of any African country. That’s according to Justin Jay, Program Co-Director of The Drill Project. Justin returned for a repeat visit to the IPPL sanctuary…
Read MoreRemembering the Bangkok Six case
Dianne Taylor-Snow has been a wildlife crime investigator and photojournalist for IPPL for 25 years. She’s also a dedicated board member and even has an IPPL gibbon named after her. She recently visited IPPL for a few days, and she shared with us her reminiscences about one of IPPL’s signature cases: the smuggling of six…
Read More“Don’t pay too much in taxes!”
“Do you own stock in a non-retirement account? If so, you probably are looking at paying capital gains tax on your 2014 return because it has been a good year for the market. Did you know you can reduce those taxes by gifting stocks that have appreciated during the year to a qualified non-profit? By…
Read MoreA science field trip to IPPL
When I was elementary school, we got to go on the occasional low-key field trip, like a day hike in a county park to identify local wildflowers. A trip to a private primate sanctuary would have been beyond imagining. But that’s what a group of lucky students from Mason Preparatory School in Charleston got to…
Read MoreIPPL’s Small Grants Program is there from the start
For many years, IPPL has worked to locate overseas organizations doing great work below the radar of large funding sources and invited them to apply for financial support to our Small Grants Program. Many of the groups to which IPPL provided seed money when they were brand-new and struggling have grown into large, successful organizations.…
Read MoreMore than ready for the Day of Caring 2014
Today is the Day of Caring, a day when thousands of volunteers from local businesses donate their time and talents to help schools and charities in our area. The Trident United Way organizes this annual blitz, and IPPL has taken part since 2004. Until last year, the Day of Caring was always held in September…
Read MoreWeeble-wobble pumpkins
Since it’s pumpkin time, our artistic animal care staff came up with a number of creative carvings and presented the fruits of their labors to our gibbons. Our gibbons mostly like to munch the seeds and excavate the stringy “pumpkin guts” from the belly of the pumpkin-beast. Sometimes that can be more of a…
Read MoreHappy, healthy Halloween!
The IPPL gibbons have been enjoying some pretty nifty Halloween treats this season, thanks to our creative animal care staff. We shy away from offering our gibbons sugary snacks that are only good for promoting cavities and diabetes and instead go for healthy treats. But, as we like to say around here, sometimes it’s all…
Read MoreHow you can tell you’re in love with baboons
Joselyn Mormile knew she was in love with baboons the day she went into town to do some shopping in the South African province of Limpopo. She had been working at the C.A.R.E. baboon rescue and rehabilitation center, located near the Kruger National Park. C.A.R.E. is somewhat remote, and volunteers and workers don’t usually leave…
Read MoreFarewell to Igor
The spirit of our dear Igor left this world on October 13, 2014. He was well into his 50s and had apparently suffered from a stroke or similar health crisis on October 10 that left him paralyzed on his right side. Our wonderful long-time vet Dr. Ohlandt gave him a prednisone injection the following day…
Read MoreFarewell Igor
Igor was born in the wild, but spent 26 years in two research facilities. In 1987, he was allowed to “retire” to IPPL, but he came with mental issues. During his years in research he became a self-mutilator, hurting himself whenever he saw another gibbon. As a result, he was forced to live isolated behind…
Read MoreThe secret lives of the IPPL gibbons
During our Supporters’ Meeting this past April, IPPL’s Animal Care team members shared some candid videos they had taken of our gibbons. As you might imagine, they have seen many unusual behaviors that the casual visitor is unlikely to witness. So, may I present the IPPL gibbons, as you’ve never seen them before…. Blackie…
Read MoreSanctuary chimps in the Ebola zone say “Thank you!”
Here’s what we heard yesterday from Bala Amarasekaran, the Founder and Director of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone: Dear Shirley, We cannot thank you enough. Indeed a blessing, your kindness and support has always been there for Tacugama. Situation is pretty bad. Rather late, but much needed help is beginning to arrive. Hope…
Read MoreGibbons charm the Mount Pleasant Garden Club
Yesterday, IPPL’s sanctuary hosted the Mount Pleasant Garden Club, which makes monthly visits to notable locations around the Lowcountry that might interest their members. But I don’t think any of them had ever been on a garden tour that featured gibbons! Our Executive Director, Shirley McGreal, is a British citizen and has a true English…
Read MoreMeet our girl Molly!
For several years, Molly Jorges has worked at the C.A.R.E. baboon rehabilitation center in Phalaborwa, South Africa. C.A.R.E. was founded by the late Rita Miljo in 1989. Rita and three other baboons (including Bobby, her first rescue) tragically died in a fire at the sanctuary during the night of July 27, 2012. Working for baboons…
Read MoreHollywood comes to IPPL
Over the weekend we were delighted to welcome not one, but two bona fide Hollywood actors to the IPPL sanctuary. Actress and animal activist Elaine Hendrix arrived yesterday with her boyfriend and fellow-actor Salvator Xuereb, as well as his young daughter Anouk and son Finnley, as the four of them were in the midst of…
Read MoreEbola threatens chimp sanctuary
Humans are not the only ones at risk from Ebola: chimps and gorillas are also susceptible to the deadly virus, which is currently wreaking havoc in West Africa. It’s turning out to be the worst outbreak of this virus in history. That’s why we are so worried about our friends at the Tacugama Chimpanzee…
Read MoreWikiLeaks confirms IPPL’s role in India’s monkey export ban
An IPPL member recently drew my attention to information about primates on WikiLeaks. In searching the files, I found mainly State Department cables about U.S. primate procurement efforts. Interestingly, I came across this cable dated December 2, 1977, showing that the State Department blamed IPPL for India’s historic ban on the export of its native…
Read MoreBlue and Tong
When Blue was a young puppy he met Tong, the last of the gibbons that Shirley brought back from Thailand. They formed a special bond that is obvious in this adorable video. Both are now deceased, but we wanted to keep the memories of these unique, playful friends.
Read MoreWelcome to the 2014 Animal Rights National Conference
Every year, the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) holds a conference. The program is not limited to issues directly impacting farm animals, however, but also includes discussions of experimentation, the civil rights of activists, and many other topics. IPPL has been a sponsor of this important conference for a number of years and once again…
Read MoreAt the Animal Rights National Conference 2014
Each year since 2009, IPPL has been represented at the Animal Rights National Conference, which has been organized in various formats since the 1980s by the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), led by Dr. Alex Hershaft. The conference currently alternates between Los Angeles and Washington, DC. This year’s conference was held in Los Angeles. IPPL…
Read MoreGus’s birthday pops
OK, I confess: we don’t know Gus’s actual birth date. He was a former pet, and we never received his full records when he arrived at our sanctuary. But that’s no reason not to celebrate his “honorary” birthday, which we did last month with a popsicle party. Our Administrative Assistant Tina gladly recruited her…
Read MoreWorld Cup Gibbon Training Camp 2014
Our gibbons have World Cup potential, no question. Whoop-Whoop already shows great kicking abilities. We’re just going to have to cure him of his tendency to bite the ball: Whoop-Whoop—even more so than Luis Suarez—has some very impressive canines! And watch Maui score his first goal! With just a little more energy, we think he…
Read MoreIt’s National Eat Your Vegetables Day!
Along the highways leading into Charleston we’ve seen billboards the last couple of months that ask us if we can name 20 vegetables in the next two miles. Our gibbons would have no trouble with this (apart from that language-barrier thing…). Can you name 20 veggies in, say, the next two minutes? As our senior…
Read MoreApe experts at our sanctuary
Say hello to Carol Fleming and her partner Keith Lloyd, two primate pros from the UK who have been spending a few days at the IPPL sanctuary! When I first started chatting with them, they claimed that they had led very boring lives. I’m sorry to tell you: they were lying. Carol started working…
Read MoreWelcome, Spanky!
Today we accepted a new gibbon at the IPPL sanctuary! Spanky is an eight-year-old male, born October 18, 2005. He’s a white-handed gibbon from Texas who was given to his former “owner” as a gift when he was only eight months old. However, in March his owner contacted us, saying that she…
Read MoreThe world’s rarest primate
Did you know that the world’s rarest primate is actually a gibbon? The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is critically endangered. In fact, this ape is found only in the Bawangling Nature Reserve on Hainan Island, China, located in the South China Sea. There are fewer than 30 individuals left alive. This may not be…
Read MoreShirley’s birthday bash
Late Tuesday night Shirley arrived back at the office from her most recent travels, so the IPPL staff celebrated yesterday with a little late (only three days’ worth of belated…) birthday party! Did you forget to wish Shirley a happy birthday? Wish her a belated bodacious b-day on…
Read MoreOur primate conservation conference 2014, in pictures
This past weekend, we held our 13th biennial Supporters’ Meeting on the grounds of the IPPL sanctuary. We hosted primate field workers from Africa, Asia, and the Americas, all from projects that IPPL has helped to support—sometimes for years! Attendees were able to interact one-on-one with our visiting speakers, enjoy the spring sunshine, and…
Read MoreA tribute to Cyril Rosen
The late Cyril Rosen MBE was the man behind IPPL (UK), which flourished well over three decades from the time he established the British branch of IPPL in 1976. He passed away on December 21, 2013, at the age of 86. Photo of Cyril in Basel, © Howard Rosen According to his obituary…
Read MoreHappy 80th Birthday to Dr. Jane Goodall
Dr. Jane turns 80 today—but she sent US a present! She recently recorded these special greetings just for IPPL: [field name=”jane-goodall-message”] Many thanks to Dr. Jane for her decades of hard work on behalf of chimpanzees and all primates—and a very happy birthday from everyone at IPPL.
Read MoreAn invitation to our 2014 meeting
We’re looking forward to our upcoming biennial Supporters’ Meeting. And today Shirley sends you this invitation: [field name=”Shirley-invitation-2014″] Join us April 11-13 at IPPL’s South Carolina gibbon sanctuary. Contact Shirley directly (smcgreal@ippl.org) for more information.
Read MoreSpring cleaning squared
Tidying up the sanctuary grounds after the winter’s wind and rain is always a bit of a chore, but this year Mother Nature dealt us a double-whammy. Dual ice storms first weakened and then struck down tree limbs left and right, smashing everything in their path: buildings, fences, and our reliable old Ranger pickup—but fortunately…
Read MoreA lip-smacking good time with Gus
Every day we feed our gibbons a variety of mixed veggies for breakfast. Lately, the menu has included peppers, beets, cauliflower, carrots, beans, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, and herbs like cilantro. Lunch is a changing assortment of fresh fruit, which for the past week has included apples, oranges, kiwi, papaya, cantaloupe, pineapple, and a few mangoes.…
Read MorePrimate enrichment at WAR
Wildlife At Risk (WAR) is a nonprofit in Vietnam that is dedicated to the conservation of that country’s biodiversity and combating the illegal wildlife trade. They care for about 60 primates at two wildlife rescue centers (one in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Kien Giang province). They have even managed to release some…
Read MoreFive fun facts about Erin on her birthday!
Erin turns 29 today! I’ll bet you didn’t know…. 1. Erin is a ninja. The story is that once when she was being darted for capture at a facility where she lived previously, she actually caught the dart in mid-air! (Sorry, no photo of that incident; you’ll have to take our word for it.) …
Read MoreA second ice storm devastates the sanctuary
On Wednesday, February 12, 2014, the second ice storm in as many weeks hit IPPL’s gibbon sanctuary. That first storm, it turned out, had weakened numerous tree limbs, especially among our pines. The second onslaught sent huge branches—some weighing hundreds of pounds—crashing down from heights of over 50 feet. Our…
Read MoreMonkey business in Sochi
The eyes of the world are on Sochi, where the Winter Olympics are starting today. But few people know that the Sochi area is home to the world’s first primate research laboratory. It was founded in 1927 under the name “Research Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapy.” The original lab was established in the town…
Read MoreIcicles at IPPL
Yesterday the South Carolina Lowcountry endured an ice storm that made our roads treacherous, closed the airport, and shut down schools and government offices throughout the region. This same system wreaked havoc in many parts of the southeastern U.S., as far away as Texas, Virginia, and Florida. Our governor declared a state of emergency.…
Read MorePeppy and the gibbons who got away
Our gibbon Peppy, who celebrated his 35th birthday yesterday, was born at a cancer lab at the University of California at Davis in 1979. The laboratory used gibbons in painful and usually fatal viral cancer experiments. But Peppy was “The Gibbon Who Got Away.” The virus they gave him didn’t make him sick. …
Read MoreU.S. primate import statistics for 2013
After four straight years of decline, the number of primates imported into the U.S. unfortunately increased by 8.5 percent over last year’s figure, according to preliminary data IPPL has been able to obtain from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Last year, according to revised data we received on April 8, 2013, the U.S. imported…
Read MoreCourtney’s birthday bash
Today Courtney turns 12 years old. In honor of her last pre-teen birthday, our staff constructed a nifty new enrichment device we hoped would engage those devious little brain cells. The apparatus consists of a series of nesting plastic cups strung together on a vertical PVC pole. Each cup can contain a variety of…
Read MoreWinter-time indoor fun
When it stays colder than 50 degrees (F) outside, we keep the gibbons nice and warm in their indoor night quarters throughout the day. They don’t always appreciate our consideration for their comfort, however! Many of them (“Maynard, Chloe, Gus, Scrappy, Dianne—and especially Courtney,” says our caregiver Samantha) get cranky at being cooped up. It’s…
Read MoreCelebrating Monkey Day 2013
This past Saturday, December 14, was International Monkey Day, and in honor of IPPL’s 40th anniversary year we decided to monkey around with a FUNdraiser we called “Painting for Primates.” It took place at the nearby West Ashley Wine and Design studio, which often sponsors “Paint it Forward” events for local charities. We…
Read MoreA rabbit-proof fence for our gibbon garden
Back in September, a group of kids from the University School of the Lowcountry volunteered at IPPL’s sanctuary as part of the Trident United Way Day of Caring. Their main project was to plant some raised-beds with veggies for our gibbons. We wanted to try out these pilot plots to see if we could feasibly…
Read MorePainting for Primates on International Monkey Day
If you’re going to be around the South Carolina Lowcountry next week, please join us for a “Paint it Forward” event at West Ashley Wine and Design, 1331 Ashley River Road, Charleston, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 14—which also happens to be International Monkey Day! For $35 you will have the opportunity…
Read MoreA drill monkey tracker turns filmmaker
Drill monkeys might be the world’s largest monkeys. We’re actually not 100 percent sure because there has been so little fieldwork done on these enigmatic primates. They are hard to keep in captivity and even harder to find in the wild. These close relatives of the similarly-sized mandrill live only in the forests…
Read MoreRemembering the Taiping Four gorilla case
Every two years IPPL holds a conference for our supporters, and we bring in speakers working for primates around the world. In 2002, our meeting was held at IPPL Headquarters March from 22 to 24. I thought you might like to know how a “tip-off” led to a long investigation that had worldwide ripples. The…
Read MoreWomen to watch
Every year our town paper, the Summerville Journal Scene, carries a special section on local “Women to Watch.” Ten women representing a wide variety of occupations are chosen for this honor. This year, the recipients included, a single mom who battled poverty to start her own law firm, the director of an award-winning bed and…
Read MoreScarecrows on the Square 2013
Every year at Halloween, the small town of Summerville invites local nonprofits and businesses to build scarecrows to exhibit in the town square. Well over 50 exhibits are on display this year. The square is always crowded with excited children and adults. Thousands of people visit the scarecrows every year. It’s especially pleasant at night…
Read MoreVolunteer spotlight: Susan Parker
It’s been like a nine-year “alternative spring break” for Susan Parker: she has been making the six-hour drive from her home in Norfolk, Virginia, to help out at the IPPL sanctuary for a week at a time ever since 2004. This month really does mark the ninth anniversary of her first visit here. On that…
Read MoreHalloween treats from Oz
We’ve been enjoying a return visit of zookeeper Sophie Miller, from Australia (a.k.a. “Oz”). She very fond of gibbons and last visited us two years ago with a couple of her fellow gibbon-loving friends from Down Under. She also enjoys Halloween and related phenomena (like vampires). Today she suggested that our gibbons might like some…
Read MoreIt’s pumpkin time!
Many of our gibbons, we’ve learned, really enjoy pumpkins. Not only do they like to eat the raw squash itself, but they also like nibbling the on the seeds. So here are some of our favorite punkin pics from the last couple of days….
Read More“Kindred Beings”
This week’s post is written by guest blogger Sheri Speede, DVM, the founder/director of In Defense of Animals-Africa and its Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon. She has just written a memoir, titled Kindred Beings: What Seventy-Three Chimpanzees Taught Me About Life, Love and Connection. Check out the book’s Web site and Facebook page for…
Read MoreDays of Caring, 2013
What could be better than one Day of Caring? Two Days of Caring, of course! This annual volunteer blitz—which is organized by our Trident United Way—has been expanding over the years. On September 11, 2001, the Day of Caring also became a way to for people in our area to come together in community and…
Read MoreA garden for gibbons
Today we had a great group of kids come out to our sanctuary and plant some winter veggies for our gibbons. Their project was part of the annual Trident United Way volunteer bonanza known as the Day of Caring. The kids are from the University School of the Lowcountry, and their school has sent…
Read MoreA note of gratitude from Cameroon
Earlier today we received a special thank-you from our long-time friends at a wonderful primate sanctuary in Central Africa. The Limbe Wildlife Centre currently cares for more than 360 native Cameroonian wild animals. That includes about 240 primates: some 16 gorillas, 50 chimpanzees, and over 175 monkeys now call the place home. The LWC is…
Read MoreBali, meet Bubbins
This past Monday, our gibbons welcomed a new (four-footed) arrival to the IPPL sanctuary: Bali is an older male Asian short-clawed otter whom we invited to be a companion for Bubbins, a female otter who was “widowed” this past April when her partner Dua had to be put to sleep. Bali himself lost his mate…
Read MoreA photo-shoot with Tong and Gibby
The Day of Caring annual volunteer blitz is just three weeks away! Matching thousands of volunteers with hundreds of projects benefitting local charities, this massive event has been growing steadily in popularity since 2000 and is organized by our Trident United Way (TUW). IPPL has taken part in the Day of Caring since 2004, and…
Read MoreArun Rangsi’s backstory
Our first rescued lab gibbon came to IPPL in 1981 as a very unhappy little gibbon. Like other primates who have grown up in isolation in a barren laboratory environment, he was prone to repetitive, abnormal behaviors. He banged his head so much that he had a little callus over one ear. Although he was…
Read MoreYoga pros do primate poses at IPPL
Andrea Boyd is a long-time IPPL supporter who co-founded the Jivamukti yoga studio eight years ago with her husband Jeffrey Cohen in nearby Mount Pleasant. She visited the IPPL sanctuary today and brought with her a couple of friends and fellow yoga practitioners, Elii Manzo and Jason (Jay) McNamara. The three of them came to…
Read MoreRemembering Project Bangkok Airport
Last week I told you about the collection of primate postage stamps recently donated to IPPL by our late member David Rand of Berkeley, California. That got me thinking about the time when I initially met David, a man who had a passion for primates and travel, as I did. It was when I was…
Read MoreAn amazing primate stamp collection
A treasure trove of stamps—all consisting of primate images—has come to rest at IPPL’s Headquarters in Summerville. IPPL’s longtime supporter David Rand had painstakingly pulled together this unique assemblage. Sadly, David passed away late last year. After his death, David’s brother Laury kindly contacted IPPL to see if would like to have David’s primate stamp…
Read MorePrimate friends old and new at the animal rights conference!
It was our one chance this year to meet hundreds of animal-friendly people of all ages from across the nation and beyond—all at one convenient venue. This year’s Animal Rights National Conference (AR2013, organized by the Farm Animal Rights Movement) was held again in Washington, DC. Unlike last year, though, no other animal group is…
Read MoreHanging out with orangutan advocates
Three orangutan activists stopped in the South Carolina Lowcountry this past Wednesday as part of their world tour on behalf of the great red ape. A small but enthusiastic group of primate supporters braved the late afternoon thunderstorms and flooding in downtown Charleston to “Hang Out for Orangutans.” Our three guest speakers, who collectively have…
Read MoreThe Silver Springs monkeys
The rural area near Ocala, Florida, was once home to an amazing variety of primate species—some of whom still live there in the wild. The Silver Springs tourist attraction located there once featured a family of gibbons (who came came to live at IPPL just last month), some lemurs, spider monkeys, and troops of macaque…
Read MoreHang out for orangutans!
If you’re going to be in the Charleston area on June 19, I hope you’ll join us for the Hang Out for Orangutans World Tour! We are pleased to host a trio of orangutan experts who will draw on their decades of expertise to give an illustrated lecture on the conservation crisis facing the great…
Read MoreMeet the Silver Springs Four!
Yesterday we were thrilled to welcome a new family of gibbons to our sanctuary! Say hello to the Silver Springs Four: Glenda and Gary, their daughter Kendra, and their son Thai. Glenda Glenda is a sweetheart and very people-friendly. Minutes after they arrived yesterday, she was allowing our staff to pet her toes. And twice…
Read MoreMonkey madness for Mother’s Day?
Let’s hope not it’s not a trend. But a rash of recent ads featuring monkeys makes me worry. When major brands like Sears and Burger King and Kmart use monkeys in their commercials, are they going to be selling the idea that monkeys make cute pets? Maybe that’s what viewers will take away, more so…
Read MoreVolunteer spotlight: Laura Vees
When she started volunteering at IPPL, Laura Vees was a biology student at the College of Charleston. But she wanted experience with a wider variety of animals, so her animal behavior professor put her in touch with us. “I already knew I loved animals,” says Laura. “I had worked with dogs and cats, but I…
Read MoreDamien, the demon monkey of Main Street
Although Barbary macaques are native to northern Africa, their most famous representatives live on the other side of a little piece of the Mediterranean Sea, on the Rock of Gibraltar. Keri Cairns, who was doing some investigative photojournalism for us earlier this year to check on the status of these monkeys in the wild, felt…
Read MoreIgor gets a special present
Last week we received an unexpected package addressed to Shirley—and Igor. It turned out to be from one of his admirers, Cynthia, who had visited IPPL this past February. On opening the box, we found a cute little primate-printed pouch, and inside that was a “junior” brush and comb set just for Igor. She…
Read MoreJustin Bieber’s monkey fever
As Mally, the teen idol’s pet capuchin monkey, knows by now, pet primates are never a good idea. And when a celebrity decides to make one a pet, it’s even worse. That’s because there’s a knock-on effect. Adoring fans go to great lengths to imitate their favorite stars. That includes trying to accessorize like them,…
Read MoreAn Easter egg hunt for the IPPL gibbons
The Easter Bunny visited the IPPL gibbons this year. He left dozens of brightly colored hard-boiled eggs for our little apes. They were a huge hit! Of course, Mr. Bunny had help from the IPPL animal caregivers. They came along with a wheelbarrow full of hay and over three dozen eggs. Meg distributed armloads of…
Read MoreThe uncertain future of the Barbary macaque
Barbary macaques inhabit a variety of environments in their native Morocco, as our roving zoologist Keri Cairns discovered on his trip there earlier this year. From the squares of Marrakech to the roadsides of the Middle Atlas to the cork forests in the Rif Mountains; from sunny waterfalls to snowy paths. You can tell: these…
Read MoreMalaysia’s monkey war: Take action!
Nearly 100,000 free-living long-tailed macaque monkeys have been killed per year in Malaysia, during 2011 and 2012. And the extermination is continuing. This massive “culling” has been conducted by Malaysia’s own Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Please protest this horrifying and inhumane assault on Malaysia’s monkeys! (See below.) A friend of Malaysia’s monkeys confirmed for…
Read MoreA monkey castle in Morocco
“How do you defend a once-widespread primate in Morocco from further decline?” After seeing the degraded state of the Barbary macaque monkeys living by the roadside near the town of Azrou, this is what our roving zoologist/photojournalist Keri Cairns wanted to know. Maybe build the monkeys a castle? We had sent Keri on an…
Read MoreThe sad truth about the “Tourist Group” monkeys
We’ve been following the adventures of IPPL’s intrepid zoologist/photojournalist Keri Cairns as he unravels the perils facing Barbary macaques in their native Morocco. When last we heard from him, he was at the Cascades d’Ouzoud, describing how “good monkeys can go bad” if tempted by enough easy human food. But, he suggested, things could get…
Read MoreSafety first at IPPL
“IPPL’s sanctuary has been located in Summerville since 1977, and we have never had any escapes, as all our housing is double-welded,” says our executive director, Shirley McGreal. “We have had some occasions when we needed to anesthetize a gibbon, but fortunately these have been rare. However, it’s always good to be prepared for any…
Read MoreTrophy monkeys?
For the first time ever, IPPL was recently able to obtain data on (of all things) primate trophy hunting! Yes, it still happens. As IPPL Executive Director Shirley McGreal says, “We are more familiar with U.S. trophy hunters going to Africa to shoot elephants, lions, and antelopes. But quite a few add monkeys to their…
Read MoreHow “problem monkeys” start: The macaques of Morocco’s mountains
After witnessing the pitiful abuse of captive Barbary macaques in Marrakech last month, it was a relief to seek out the wild cousins of these monkeys in the Middle Atlas mountains of central Morocco. That’s what Keri Cairns, our roving representative zoologist, told us in his latest e-mail report. The Moroccan Primate Conservation Foundation, which…
Read MoreSweet CeCe’s Charity Challenge to benefit IPPL
Here’s a sweet deal for local (Charleston, SC) IPPL supporters: a Charity Challenge! Download our donation certificate, present it at Sweet Cece’s frozen yogurt shop at 99 South Market Street this Saturday (February 16, 11 AM – 9 PM), and IPPL will get 20% of the proceeds! Like our gibbons, you’ll say “Yummmmmm!”
Read MoreIPPL’s newest lovebirds: Tong and Gibby!
Tong just received the most adorable valentine from Katherine, one of Tong’s most recent adopters. It opens to reveal a lovely message. And this week it so happens that we have very exciting (and seasonally appropriate) news about Tong: she’s no longer single! She and Gibby were placed together this past Tuesday, and they are…
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