Abused Chimp Finds Solace By Adopting Children’s Dolls

Featured image courtesy of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

In Washington’s Cascade Mountain range sits the town of Cle Elum. This town is home to seven beautiful chimps who are recovering from years spent in a scientific lab.

One of the chimps, Foxie, is living at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest after being used for hepatitis research.

She had given birth to four babies while in captivity.

She also has crippling social anxiety as a result of her treatment. So how do the sanctuary workers deal with this?
 

Buy her a doll!

To help her cope with losing her babies, she adopted a Troll doll.

Shortly after, her collection started to grow. Two dolls, four dolls, and more.
 

 
“When I first met Foxie at the laboratory, she hid in a corner, mostly out-of-sight. She watched my every move, though, and by the end of the visit she presented her belly for me to tickle with a rolled up newspaper. Her caretaker at the laboratory warned us that she couldn’t be trusted and would try to grab her caregivers if given the opportunity,” owner Diane writes.