The reaction of the 29-year-old chimpanzee when he first sees the sky, Vanilla has always been locked in a cage.

A video released by Save the Chimpanzee Chimpanzee Sanctuary shows the moment a 29-year-old chimpanzee sees the sky for the first time after arriving at the orphanage in Fort Pierce, Florida, USA.

Vanilla is one of the surviving animals at the New York Laboratory for Experimental Primate Medicine and Surgery. In accordance with new york post office, the chimpanzee never left the 1.5-square-meter cage or garage-sized enclosure until she moved into the shelter. Vanilla lived in the laboratory for two years, which closed in 1997. She was then transferred to California where she was imprisoned in an asylum that eventually went bankrupt in 2019.

In a video shared by the sanctuary, the joy of the primate seeing the sky for the first time can be seen.

“In California, Vanilla lived with five chimpanzees in a cage with wire fencing, no grass, and very little enrichment,” said primatologist Andrew Halloran. new york post office.

Vanilla’s new home is also home to 226 chimpanzees discarded by the entertainment industry, the exotic pet trade and zoos.

“She gets along with all 18 other chimpanzees on the island,” Halloran said, “and she has a particularly funny relationship with the alpha male Dwight, from whom he steals food.”