Courtesy Ali Crumpacker
Executive Director Ali Crumpacker and her team are making a forever home for chimpanzees at Project Chimps. This Blue Ridge Mountains sanctuary is home to nearly 100 chimpanzees.
Tell us how you came to this work. You’ve come full circle from New Jersey, to California, to north Georgia. How did it all prepare you for the job of executive director at one of only five chimpanzee sanctuaries in the United States?
I grew up around animals and knew I wanted to devote my life to them. I’ve followed the jobs across the country, going to the locations where I could make the biggest difference. I never saw myself working with chimps in Georgia, and I also didn’t know there even were chimps in Georgia!
What is the purpose of the sanctuary, and why do chimpanzees used in research need a place like Project Chimps?
Our mission is to provide exemplary care to former research chimpanzees. We were founded in 2014 to provide a home to the privately owned chimps—the ones coming from universities without any government support like the National Institutes of Health chimps. We started small but with big goals, and now we have nearly 100 chimps with a staff of three dozen and close to 200 volunteers! Over the next four years we expect to double in size to ensure all the private chimps have a forever home in the mountains.
We are accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and Better Business Bureau, and licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Describe the sanctuary, and give our readers a picture of its beauty and size.
Project Chimps is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains on more than 230 acres of land. We’ve added hiking trails for the public on the perimeter of the property, and chimp housing is in the center. We’ve added a lot of structure to the chimp areas. Our goal is to keep most of the property devoted to the native flora and fauna of this region. We’re finding a good balance with nature.
What is your favorite part of this work, your biggest challenge and what is “Chimpcation”?
Our biggest challenge is fundraising. Understandably, donors want to see the chimps, and, thankfully, the chimps enjoy visitors! While we have limited large-event days, donors can book private small group tours or attend public programs like Chimpcation, where people can spend a full week at the sanctuary learning all that goes into chimpanzee caregiving. They’re popular and offered five weeks a year. You’ll want to book in advance at: projectchimps.org/chimpcation
My biggest reward is seeing a timid chimp who exhibited a lot of anxiety when first arriving, and then finally relaxing and enjoying this new life. For some this happens right away. For others this can take years. We’ll never know just what they saw in their past or how long it will take to convince them it’s over and behind them, and life is good now.
What has been your biggest surprise, and what’s next at Project Chimps?
My biggest surprise is who some of our supporters are. Who knew sci-fi fans would be huge ape fans too? It makes sense once you connect the dots with storylines like “Planet of the Apes,” but it still surprised me. On the horizon is major construction. The pandemic delayed our expansion, and that has meant more than 100 chimps are still waiting at The New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana. We just need a few more million dollars to move forward with building the infrastructure to give them all the life they deserve.
The story above first appeared in our September/ October 2022 issue.
