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“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…
A 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…
IPPL’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.…
More 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…
Weeble-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…
Happy, 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…
How 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…
Farewell 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…
Farewell 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…
The 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…
Sanctuary 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…
Gibbons 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…
Meet 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…
Hollywood 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…
Ebola 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…
WikiLeaks 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…
Blue 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.
Welcome 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…
