Project Chimps

The Peach State is probably not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about chimpanzee habitats, but if you wander into the woods of a little town called Morganton in northern Georgia you might begin to hear the distinctive hooting calls of these great apes. If you do, you'll know you're close to Project Chimps, a chimpanzee sanctuary in the Blue Ridge Mountains that is home to over 100 of our closest primate cousins.

The chimps at the sanctuary are all former research primates from the New Iberia Research Center, a medical research facility which formerly had the largest number of privately-owned research chimps in the world. Project Chimps reached an agreement with New Iberia to re-home their chimps after in 2015 the US Government listed all chimpanzees, including captive ones, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) - this meant that use of chimpanzees in laboratory research in the US finally came to an end, and chimps previously used for research could finally enjoy a new life. The first residents arrived at Project Chimps in 2016 and many more have been welcomed since then - the sanctuary plans to build a 25-acre outdoor habitat so that its chimps can have as much freedom of movement as possible. 

The sanctuary is only open to the public via privately booked tours and on some special event days. If you book in advance, you can even stay on the property in an 100 year old cabin or spend a week volunteering with the sanctuary team. Hiking trails near the sanctuary are public and open year-round and are a great way to hear the chimps at play and maybe even catch a glimpse of them if they're in their Peachtree Habitat. You can select from several hiking trails that start by a beautiful koi pond and picnic area. Bring the kids and the dogs and see what happens when Fido hears their very first chimpanzee pant-hooting while you hike!

Extra fun fact: Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and his wife Adrienne are founding board members of the project!