Emotional Reunion with Chimpanzees

hey remember me hey little older huh just hours north in Florida a woman has come to revisit some dear old friends are you smiling I'm smiling I'm so happy to see chimpanzees have provided us with so much in this world so much knowledge about ourselves about our social lives about our dispositions this is the story of three chimpanzees a female named swing a young male named Sparky six year old doll and the woman whose life they would change forever Linda Koechner was a 23 year old graduate student when she was asked to participate in a bold new project a hepatitis vaccine had been found and certain chimps were no longer needed would they be capable of a normal existence after life in the lab on a January morning a small group of chimpanzees caught their first glimpse of the Sun in over six years they were terrified to get out of the security of that transfer cage whether it was afraid to step on the grass they hadn't been on anything but hard bars for years or just the feel of the wind and the Sun and they just huddled in the doorways and wouldn't come out over time we coax them and doll was right up the tree but some of the others had never tasted any kind of freedom since they were infants riding on their mother's back and they had been in these little boxes for years and years for the next four years Linda spent every day with the chimps watching over them observing their journey back to homeless it was a grand experiment no one knew whether it would work but it did swing girl girl in C yeah good girl 25 years later Linda's come back for a long-awaited visit a few of her old friends still remain girls not quite the little babies that you left no remember me dolls make you smile yeah whatever they remember everything that I remember about our relationships doll come here oh come on okay it's been 18 years since Linda has had any contact with doll and swing face to face it's been so long there's no telling how they'll react oh you look great even her old friends are now wild animals Oh could you remember me girl hey me Oh presents okay oh yeah uh-huh ah these chimpanzees have taught me about resilience all of these have gone through such tremendous adversity and yet they're forgiving and they're whole again yes if you remember me you remember a lot of things don't you back to Africa the lab when we came down here remember when you got so sick yeah you let me carry you off the island it's good you got better it's good you've had a good life I don't think lion country even knew it when it started but it it has provided wonderful sanctuary for these chimpanzees over 30 chimpanzees have found their way to this refuge in southern Florida each chimp arrived with a history some were once pets but discarded when they grew too strong to handle others were research chimps a female named inky was crippled during polio trials they all bear the scars of the past but here they've been given the chance to live out their days with others of their kind look my girl huh you're your own girl inspired by the success of Dahl and swing Linda is determined to provide homes for other chimpanzees in need my dream is to replicate even on a grander scale what we were able to do for the chimps that came de Lyonne country with us I just hope that this is a model and that we can give them the respect and the freedom to live out their lives at least together it's important not just for me but it's important for all of us as a species to realize that all animals are individuals and they have feelings and thoughts and they suffer the pain and the joy that we do and they're entitled and deserve an opportunity you

Channel: argofilms

Views: 14,602,325

Rating: 4.9266658 out of 5

Keywords: chimpanzees, africa, florida, laboratory, medical research, sancutary, Lion Country Safari (Zoo), Linda Koebner, LEMSIP lab, reunion, emotional, Doll, Swing, ArgoFilms, Allison Argo, resuce, humane, chimp island

Id: BZPZD1JV5QQ

Length: 7min 3sec (423 seconds)

Published: Fri May 02 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/Matt5639]

Get back in there tear!

[u/Taybow]

I would have packed a lunch had I known I would have been going on a feels trip today

[u/Adnoz]

What strikes me the most when I see Chimps is how some people deny our kinship with them. Just look at their ears or hands, but mostly how they display emotions. Take that chimp with a crippled hand for instance, just like a human with polio. The similarities are just as obvious as those between foxes and dogs.

[u/Taloon64]

The reunion starts at 3:29.

[u/bredhed]

Beautiful!

[u/[deleted]]

I couldn't find my lower facial tear collector from A through Y so I had to use my Chin-Pan-Zee

• Sorry

[u/FreeMyMen]

Not nearly as genuine as this reunion: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kefkklynd38

[u/[deleted]]

Wow, I wonder if this is where Bubbles is? <- music video https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbles_(chimpanzee) <- story of bubbles

[u/Whoknew72]

My feels! This hit me right in them.