The veterinarian added that Sweetwaters’ goal is to rehabilitate the traumatized animals and provide them with a stimulating, stress-reducing environment that best mimics their natural environment. For instance, he said, caregivers will scatter food around the 250-acre plot rather than put it in one place.

“It may take the form of food. It may take the form of having complex, either ropes, either swings, either hammocks, sometimes also just trying to make the environment into a way that is not so obvious, so that they may not be able to utilize the whole environment, but they may be able to concentrate, so the day moves [faster],” said Paul.

Growing need for protection

Sweetwaters is one of 18 chimpanzee sanctuaries in 12 African countries caring for about 800 chimpanzees. They operate under the auspices of the U.S.-based Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, which works toward primate protection and rehabilitation.

Executive director of the Jane Goodall Institute in South Africa, David Oosthuizen, said the number one threat against chimpanzees is the bushmeat trade, where chimps and other animals are killed for food. He said the trade is being fueled by overpopulation, and the resulting competition for food is particularly intense in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Central African Republic.

Baby chimps clinging to their dead parents often become pets or end up in entertainment acts.