Video: Rescued Chimpanzee Lisa Marie Finally Has a Family Again

When PETA last told our members about Lisa Marie, a chimpanzee we helped rescue from her former owner’s basement, she was basking in the sunlight in her new home at the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida.

Taken from her mother as an infant and apparently caged by herself for much of the first eight years of her life, Lisa Marie seemed to ache for companionship. She bonded instantly with the other rescued chimpanzees she met. One ape in particular, Ariel, immediately embraced her and started teaching the timid new arrival how to be a chimpanzee again.

But even though Save the Chimps is situated on several lush, green islands with trees, climbing structures, and bridges for its residents, Lisa Marie seemed nervous and chose to stay in an indoor enclosure. After years inside a tiny cage in a cramped basement, the tropical surroundings that should have felt like home seemed intimidating. The staff and the other animals waited patiently as Lisa Marie learned to trust, gained confidence, and got the courage to venture out into her new home without fear.

And just look at her today:

Lisa Marie finally has some semblance of the life that she was robbed of: swinging, peeling bananas, and trading grooming duties with her companions. Now it’s time to free the chimpanzee believed to be her mother. Tammy is still imprisoned at a dingy chimpanzee holding facility called the Missouri Primate Foundation, formerly known as Chimparty, which has racked up stacks of citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Urge the facility’s owner to release Tammy and all the other captive animals to accredited sanctuaries today.