World Chimpanzee Day
We are in their debt

July 14, 2023

From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl

(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)

Chimpanzees fascinate us humans. Perhaps also because about 98% of the DNA of chimpanzees and humans are identical. Chimpanzees can laugh, giggle, kiss, hold each other's hand. The other person recognizes their feelings through their facial expressions. Chimpanzees can pretend, they are empathic, they become brutal when it comes to defending their territory. Chimpanzees use heavy stones, to crack nuts, they sharpen spears with their teeth. They use these to defend themselves or to hunt. Orphaned chimpanzees are raised by unrelated chimpanzees, Chimpanzee children have an intimate relationship with their mother and learn everything from her.

The moral challenges of our civilization:

Guilt, responsibility and reparation

Every year, World Chimpanzee Day is intended to remind us that the history of mankind began almost seven million years ago in the forests of Africa, through the ape, from which the upright walking human being eventually evolved. Research and science keep monkeys in animal testing laboratories to research medicines, conduct behavioral research, etc.
In the east of Austria is one of the special places of this world. Here the moral challenges of our civilization meet: guilt, responsibility and reparation. In a former safari park, hermetically sealed off from the rest of the world, lived 40 chimpanzees from the former Immuno experimental laboratory. They had been infected with HIV and hepatitis viruses for years. Traumatized, disturbed, highly aggressive, they lived for years in the monkey houses of the safari park in Gänserndorf after the research.

40 chimpanzees, kept individually in cramped mesh cages, served as test animals for the development of HIV, hepatitis and flu vaccines. For the animals, the procedures were a daily ordeal. Anesthetized, infected with viruses and always isolated - unimaginable.

The ex-lab chimpanzees of Gut Aiderbichl

More than 15 years ago, Michael Aufhauser, founder of Gut Aiderbichl, dared to take a pioneering step and thus saved the lives of the apes that had come from the Immuno research center. They had endured physical and mental torture, especially those who had been captured as baby apes in the woods. The animals had witnessed their mothers and family members being killed in order to be able to capture them, the young monkeys.
Since 2011, the ex-lab monkeys have been able to move from the monkey houses to the outdoor enclosures. These enclosures have become their little freedom and nature created for them.

Star, came into research at age 8 and was infected with hepatitis C and the HIV virus. Today she stands proud and erect with a cherry branch in her enclosure. At over 50 years old, she is our oldest chimpanzee. At first Star was inaccessible, but today one of her best friends is Spätzle and Benjamin. It was Benjamin who lured Star out of the reserve and Star learned to feel gentleness. Star shows this by grooming for a long time. She loves the outdoors, which has made her an open, friendly and outgoing chimpanzee.

At the top of the tree in the outdoor area sits Bonnie. Bonnie is a shy chimpanzee, the boss of her group is Moritz and her comforter is Helene. Bonnie was born in freedom in 1982 and was then in diabetes research. She gets an insulin shot, which seems to have become second nature to her, and smaller portions of food throughout the day. That meant consistent training, but Bonnie "plays" with, she got good readings and gained weight. She has gotten into the habit of washing everything she eats first.
Bonnie has gained self-confidence, she stays out of conflicts within her group. Moritz, who used to try to intimidate her, is now convinced of Bonnie's strength., and has become a has become a good friend. Bonnie loves the sun - she is always the first one to run outside and up her tree climbs.

Monkeys watch each other in the group and they watch people

Our chimpanzees prove that animals can think, that they observe and plan, that they fall in love, and that they also need routine in their lives. For example, a rery, pleasurable picnic for Spaetzle, Benjamin, Star and Denise always in addition. Having picnics with each other has become a ritual and takes place in the houses or in the outdoor enclosure. Behind this idyll are much sensitivity, setbacks, patience and trust of the chimpanzees to their humans with the red T-shirt.

Chimpanzees evaluate their humans by visual sight, by their smell and by their voice. The chimpanzees' inner peace is slowly achieved through rest and the routine. In the morning, the chimpanzees are called by name to get their breakfast. Afterwards, they play, some go into the outdoor enclosures, some do not. In the evening, the ritual of going to bed begins. For hours, the chimpanzees occupy themselves with the preparation of the sleeping place, before the chimpanzee enjoys a quiet dream. Sleeping is long, up to 11 hours. There are morning muffle like with humans.

Working with the chimpanzees in Gänserndorf is a special

Renate Foidl and her team observe, feed, resocialize, respect and love the chimpanzees. Renate above all has become one of them:

"We are in their debt. They were torn away from their family and from their natural environment and imprisoned. The resocialization will never be able to be completed, because chimpanzees are intelligent and their brain works like that of humans: it is not forgotten, it is repressed. For years, a human in a gray protective suit, with hair under a cap, mouth and nose hidden behind a protective mask, meant nothing good to the chimpanzees. Deeply the memories and suffered pain sit in the brains and souls of the animals. Today, the chimpanzees know that the humans with the red T-shirt have only good intentions for them."

It cannot be told often enough: the story of the ex-lab monkeys.

Sincerely, Yours, Gisela.