DISNEY DOES IT AGAIN!

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

Disney Nature had done it again; they’ve produced a nature documentary that educates, moves and entertains! Past successes include Oceans, Earth and African Cats. This year Disney Nature presents Chimpanzee, in theaters Earth Day (April 20, 2012).

In this documentary, we travel deep into the forests of Africa to meet Oscar, a young Chimpanzee and his family. His antics and adventures lead us to discover the intelligence and ingenuity of this amazing species.

A 100 page educational guide is available and contains lesson plans and activities geared towards grades 2-6. All lessons are aligned with National Standards and include audio and visual clips and ready made PowerPoint presentations on topics like: Animal adaptations, habitats and Ecosystems, Animal behavior, use of tools and communication. Also covered are the important topics of protecting and making a positive difference for wildlife worldwide.

When I was an assistant principal, I made arrangements and took grades 4-8 to see Earth and Oceans on two different Earth Days. It was a great way to celebrate and reinforce awareness of global issues. The kids loved both movies and felt it was a real treat to go to the movies on a school day. The theater made special arrangements and gave us a wonderful package of ticket, soda and popcorn for $5 per student.

I’m especially excited about this year’s movie Chimpanzee. As you may know, I volunteer at the Center for Great Apes in Wachula, Florida,  which is a sanctuary for Orangutans and Chimpanzees who were formally in the entertainment industry, non accredited zoos, research facilities or were exotic pets. In all cases, once they became bigger and more dangerous, they were no longer wanted. The Center provides them a safe, enriching environment in which to live out their natural lives in as close to the wild as possible. The love and care they receive is inspiring and the people who run the Center are awesome, dedicated people! It’s a privilege to volunteer there.

I’m hoping every parent will bring their children to see this movie. I hope adults will see it as well. It’s so important that we become aware and involved in the humane treatment of animals. Watching Disney Nature allows us to see these creatures in the wild and within their family groupings. We can come to know them and understand the universal interconnectedness of all living things.

For more information visit:

http://disney.go.com/disneynature/chimpanzee/#/movies/chimpanzee

http://disney.go.com/disneynature/chimpanzee/#/videos/chimpanzee

http://www.centerforgreatapes.org/

LOSING GRUB; A MEMORIAL

If you remember, DRL introduced you to some of the residents at the Center for Great Apes not too long ago. One of the very special chimpanzees at the center that we highlighted was Grub. We are heartbroken to announce that Grub has passed away after a sudden illness. 

Check out his story at

http://delayedreactionlounge.blogspot.com/2011/07/meet-grub.html and read his touching memorial below!

Memorial for Grub

Losing one of our great ape residents is the hardest and saddest part of our work in providing sanctuary care for them. This week, our hearts are breaking with the loss of our first chimpanzee resident at the Center for Great Apes – our precious Grub.

Grub was the most wonderful chimpanzee and had many fans and friends, both chimp and human. He passed Tuesday after a sudden i...llness that was advanced and terminal. He was 20 years old.

While Grub is not suffering and is out of pain now, our grief comes from a sense of great loss in not having him physically in our lives anymore. But I realize that all the wonderful qualities and intelligence expressed by Grub… along with the joy and sweetness he brought to others… will always be in our thoughts and memories and did not pass away with Grub.

Today, I am remembering the happiest part of Grub’s life and the things that made Grub such a special and dear fellow.

Grub has been in my care since he was 12 weeks old when he arrived at a Miami tourist attraction in 1991 where I was already volunteering to care for infant orangutan Pongo. As I helped to take care of several infant apes there, I became more aware of issues around the retirement of hand-raised apes used in entertainment and also as pets. It was Pongo and Grub (and concern for their future) who provided the impetus to start a sanctuary for orangutans and chimpanzees coming out of these situations.

It is because of Grub thatover 30 chimpanzees have had a home at our sanctuary over the past 18 years.

SUPPORT THE GREAT APE PROTECTION & COST SAVINGS ACT

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

This bill will permanently end incasive research on chimpanzees and other great apes and retire them to sanctuaries where they can live out their lives in safe and enriching environments.

To find your representatives visit:

 http://www.house.gov/ & http://www.senate.gov/

Please support the Great Ape Protection & Cost Savings Act H.R. 1513/S.810

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO MICHAEL JACKSON'S CHIMP BUBBLES?

Reposted by Marion Pellicano Ambrose

With all the discussion surrounding the shocking death of Michael Jackson, people have wondered whatever happened to his beloved chimpanzee Bubbles. It turns out, the chimp is alive and well and monkeying around in a Florida primate sanctuary, PEOPLE has learned.

The 26-year old chimp, who lived with Jackson in the late 1980s, has spent the past four years at the Center For Great Apes, home to forty-two chimpanzees and orangutans.

"He's a very sweet and nice chimp, he really is," says sanctuary director Patti Ragan. "I've seen him go to the drinking fountain, start to take a sip of water and then, when he hears one of the younger ones coming, he'll step back and let them have a sip."

Bubbles was born at a facility in Texas that breeds primates for medical testing before Jackson adopted him in the '80s. The chimp arrived at Ragan's sanctuary -- which is not open to the public -- in 2005 after the singer's former animal trainer discontinued working with primates. Not long afterwards, a rep for Jackson contacted the facility, saying that Michael wanted to come and visit his former buddy. But the singer never made the trip.

Over the years, Bubbles has grown into a good-sized adult, and now weighs 160 lbs. His facial features have also changed since his days when he often romped around with Jackson in matching Western outfits. "That pink baby face of his has disappeared," Ragan says. "He still has a lot of fleshy color in his face. But he's a huge guy now and that probably is going to surprise a lot of people."

These days, he spends his time hanging out with a group of six other chimps. Among his favorite things to do: eating sweet potatoes, listening to flute-and-guitar music, painting and kicking back with longtime buddy Sam, 40. "The two of them like to climb up to the top of a cupola (located on the sanctuary grounds) and just sit there, staring out over the orange groves, watching the traffic in the distance," says Ragan. "He loves being up there."

And the chimpanzee hasn't been told of his former owner's recent death. "We haven't said anything to him yet," she says, adding that his mood over the past few days has been typically chimp-like: "He's been his usual self, interacting with friends, eating well, taking cover when it rains."

Ragan says it's not yet known if Jackson stipulated that any money from his estate would be used to support Bubbles, who could easily live to the age of 60. To this date, his care has come from solely from public donations.

To learn more about Bubble's new home, http://www.centerforgreatapes.org/

Originally posted Monday June 29, 2009 07:10 PM EDT

By Johnny DoddPEOPLE.com

*Update: On June 22, 2010 La Toya Jackson was the first member of the Jackson family to visit Bubbles at the Center for Great Apes. Bubbles was retired there by Michael Jackson in 2004