Chimpanzee Thomas

Most of the ex-lab chimpanzees were stolen from the jungle as baby apes and had to watch their families being killed. Once in Austria, they were kept in an experimental laboratory for 30 years, without contact with conspecifics in a very small space. Since 1997, animal experiments on apes have been banned in Austria 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 was uncertain. In 2009, they were taken over by Gut Aiderbichl from a bankruptcy estate and have been under our protection ever since. Thomas has had a difficult history and is kept individually. But through the design of the outdoor facilities, he and Fifi, his neighbor, have the opportunity to establish contact. Thomas and Fifi have been together in the living area before, but unfortunately there were always heavy fights between the two. Thomas is a fun guy, but often has a hard time controlling his emotions. He loves the challenges of enrichment tasks while being a relaxed and patient worker. He appreciates his outdoor space so much that he takes his toys and anything he finds outside and brings it back inside at night. Even his beloved curd cereal, a dish Thomas will leave anything else for, is eaten outside. Thomas sits for hours, often the whole day, in his "garden" and is a real sun worshipper.