This hand behind the bars represents freedom, not captivity... Freedom from testing, prodding and ridicule.

Today I went to Chimp Sanctuary!! This fabulous place is, surprisingly enough, hidden in the thicket only about 20 minutes from my home. I heard about this many moons ago and wanted to volunteer but the list of vaccinations I needed cooled my enthusiasim, am simply not the vaccinating type... So, I clicked the "Donate" button, sighed, and went on with my life. Until couple of weeks ago when a friend fo mine gave me the good news - Save The Chimps members are allowed one yearly visit and the next one (also the first one ever) was scheduled for today! Off I went and the collage above is a summary of my experience. Chimps are living in family groups, each group on 4-5 acres with their own "house", playground and canal. The latter prevents them from wandering too far as chimps cannot swim. One of our group asked if they are ever tempted and the answer given was fabulous - "They are as tempted to swim as we are to fly, we both just know that it cannot be done". At least not without an outside help. :) Walking around these huge grounds, hearing the stories about individual chimps, seeing them looking at us with as much fascination as we felt looking at them added up to a most uplifting experience... It was really difficult to decide who was entertaining whom! :D And, what stunned me the most perhaps was their size! One never realizes that most chimps used in adds etc are babies... Grownups are really towering at our height and are magnificent indeed! But no matter the size or age, these chimps have made it to the happy end... Not all of them do. But the numbers rescued are steadily growing. And perhaps there will dawn a day when USA stops using these almost relations in labs... I'll cross my fingers and leave the bag with nuts and bananas at their doorstep...