Most of the ex-laboratory chimpanzees were stolen from the jungle as baby monkeys and had to watch their families being killed. Once they arrived in Austria, they were kept in an experimental laboratory for 30 years, without contact with other apes in a very small space. Animal experiments on apes have been banned in Austria since 1997 and since then the chimpanzees have been reclaiming their lives. The management and care of the animals was handed over to the safari park in Gänserndorf, which finally went bankrupt in 2004. Since then, their fate has been uncertain. In 2009, they were taken over by Gut Aiderbichl from a bankruptcy estate and have been under our protection ever since. Lingoa is blind in her left eye due to an obviously untreated injury. After several unsuccessful attempts to group her with Peter, she joined the Moritz group in 2006, where she immediately felt at home. Not least thanks to the help of Anton, who was her protector at the beginning and protected her from the others as a newcomer. Little by little, a friendship developed with Xsara. Lingoa also takes great care of Moritz and always tries to make physical contact with him. She is also at his side when conflicts arise and tries to redirect and resolve arguments within the group. Lingoa is a very close observer. She notices every change immediately and her quick perception impresses her carers every day. On the day when the hatches to the outside opened for the first time, she impressed them with her daring walks on the tree trunks.
