Center for Great Apes

Center for Great Apes Welcome to the official page of the Center for Orangutan and Chimpanzee Conservation, Inc.

The Center for Great Apes’ mission is to provide a permanent sanctuary for orangutans and chimpanzees who have been retired from the entertainment industry, from research, or who are no longer wanted as pets. The Center provides care with dignity in a safe, healthy, and enriching environment for great apes in need of lifetime care.

There’s nothing better than a pool party on a summer weekend! 💦☀️Happy Saturday!📷: orangutans BamBam and Tango
08/29/2026

There’s nothing better than a pool party on a summer weekend! 💦☀️

Happy Saturday!

📷: orangutans BamBam and Tango

Chimpanzee social dynamics can be complicated!Every chimpanzee in a group holds a place within its social hierarchy, but...
08/28/2026

Chimpanzee social dynamics can be complicated!

Every chimpanzee in a group holds a place within its social hierarchy, but those relationships aren’t always as simple as one dominant male at the top. Personality, friendships, family bonds, and alliances can all play a role. Every group is a little different.

Jeeter’s group is a great example. All five chimpanzees came from backgrounds outside of typical chimpanzee social groups, including entertainment, the private pet trade, and roadside attractions.

Today, the females run the show! Maggie (pictured on the right) is generally considered the most dominant, with Bella (pictured on the left) and Ellie close behind. Jeeter and Larry often choose to back away when the ladies make their wishes known.

Even friendships can be tested by group alliances. Larry and Bella are good friends, but when disagreements arise, Bella will usually support her sister Maggie and fellow female Ellie before siding with Larry.

Most of the time, the five get along very well, but the occasional noisy disagreement is a normal part of chimpanzee communication. Once everyone has made their point, the group usually settles right back into its familiar rhythm.

We heard it’s National Cherry Popsicle Day… 🍒🧊All of the orangutans and chimpanzees enjoy plenty of whole fruits as part...
08/26/2026

We heard it’s National Cherry Popsicle Day… 🍒🧊

All of the orangutans and chimpanzees enjoy plenty of whole fruits as part of their diets, but sometimes those fruity favorites take on a different form!

Homemade frozen treats prepared in our Nutrition Center are one way caregivers can add variety to enrichment, using different ingredients, flavors, and presentations... especially during the hot Florida summer.

Chimpanzees Brooks and Kenya certainly seem to approve of this batch.

👀 Can you spy Sandra?Hint: She’s got a pretty good pine needle disguise.
08/25/2026

👀 Can you spy Sandra?

Hint: She’s got a pretty good pine needle disguise.

Happy 38th Birthday, Jethro!Today we're celebrating orangutan Jethro!Jethro can be a little shy, but those who know him ...
08/24/2026

Happy 38th Birthday, Jethro!

Today we're celebrating orangutan Jethro!

Jethro can be a little shy, but those who know him well get to see his sweet, goofy, and playful side. He's also perfectly content taking things at his own pace; whether that means relaxing in a hammock or settling in for a little screen time.

During the hot Florida summer, Jethro often chooses to spend more time inside the air-conditioning of his nighthouse, where one of his favorite activities is watching movies and TV. And he does pay attention! If a caregiver happens to stand between Jethro and the screen, he'll lean and look around them so he doesn't miss what's happening.

Jethro also shares a special companionship with Sandra. The two can often be found simply sitting near one another, peacefully enjoying each other's company. With Jethro, connection doesn't always require a lot of activity, sometimes being together is enough.

At 38, Jethro continues to show us that behind his sometimes-shy exterior is a wonderfully playful orangutan with plenty of personality.

A special Day Sponsor thank you to Pat and Gordon C. for supporting Jethro today and the sanctuary all year long. We are so grateful for your continued support of Jethro and all of the great apes in our care.

08/21/2026

Watch Louie’s head, not just the coconut!

As Louie works on opening his coconut, look closely at the side and top of his head. See the muscle visibly moving with each powerful bite? You’re getting an up-close look at part of the impressive musculature that powers an orangutan’s jaw!

The temporalis is one of several muscles involved in mastication (the scientific term for chewing). It helps close the jaw and generate the force needed for biting and chewing, and in orangutans, it’s particularly well developed. That comes in handy for processing everything from fibrous vegetation and bark to seeds and tougher foods.

Orangutans aren’t alone in having mastication muscles. Other primates—including chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans—have the same basic muscle group, as do other mammals. Their size, shape, and strength vary depending on an animal’s anatomy and diet.

But there’s something especially impressive about seeing them at work on a mature male orangutan. Adult males like Louie are significantly larger and more robust than females, with powerful jaws and substantial musculature throughout the head, neck, and shoulders.

So while Louie is focused on getting into his coconut, he’s also giving us a pretty amazing anatomy lesson!

Watch closely with each bite, you can actually see that powerful chewing muscle at work. 🦧🥥💪

🍌 What’s on the menu? 🥦When you’re preparing meals for 70 orangutans and chimpanzees, tomorrow’s menu starts today!Our N...
08/20/2026

🍌 What’s on the menu? 🥦

When you’re preparing meals for 70 orangutans and chimpanzees, tomorrow’s menu starts today!

Our Nutrition Team prepares diets one day in advance, allowing everything to be portioned, delivered, and ready to go before caregivers begin their day. It’s the most efficient way to make sure 70 individual residents get the foods they need, and there’s plenty of variety from one day to the next.

On today’s menu:
🍌 Bananas, plums & watermelon
🥦 Cauliflower, okra & red pepper
🍠 Sweet potato, white potato & rutabaga
🥬 Romaine, Napa cabbage & endive

Meanwhile, tomorrow’s diets are already being prepared with bananas, honeydew, pears, tomatoes, broccoli, green peppers, sweet and white potatoes, parsnips, iceberg lettuce, celery, and collard greens.

Menus change daily to provide variety, and our Nutrition Team also makes the most of seasonal produce when planning and purchasing food.

So while the apes are enjoying today’s meals, behind the scenes, tomorrow’s are already waiting in the wings!

📷: chimpanzees Kenya, Josh, and Kodua and orangutans Tango and Jethro

Long arms. Powerful hands and feet. Incredible climbing abilities. Curious minds.Orangutans are built for life in the tr...
08/19/2026

Long arms. Powerful hands and feet. Incredible climbing abilities. Curious minds.

Orangutans are built for life in the trees, and caring for them in sanctuary means creating opportunities for them to use those natural abilities every day.

At the Center for Great Apes, our orangutan habitats reach up to 40 feet high, with climbing structures, ropes, platforms, and other features that allow residents to move throughout the vertical space around them.

Then there are our aerial trailways. These elevated pathways wind through the sanctuary, connecting different areas and giving the orangutans opportunities to travel through the woods, explore, visit other orangutans, or simply choose somewhere different to spend part of their day.

Enrichment adds another layer. Boxes become nests. Blankets become overhead shelters. Puzzle devices encourage problem-solving. Browse can be eaten, manipulated, or woven into a nest. And sometimes caregivers provide something with one purpose in mind only to watch an orangutan come up with an entirely different use for it!

On International Orangutan Day, we celebrate what makes orangutans remarkable and the importance of providing opportunities for those orangutan behaviors to shine through. 🧡

📷: Harry, Jam, Christopher and Pebbles, Hanna, Sandra, and Kiki

🦧 International Orangutan Day | Did You Know? 🦧There are three recognized orangutan species: Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapa...
08/19/2026

🦧 International Orangutan Day | Did You Know? 🦧

There are three recognized orangutan species: Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli, which are all found naturally only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

At the Center for Great Apes, most of the orangutans in our care are hybrids, meaning they have both Bornean and Sumatran ancestry. Hybrid orangutans were commonly bred in captivity before Bornean and Sumatran orangutans were recognized as separate species.

We also care for two purebred Bornean orangutans and two purebred Sumatran orangutans.

🧡 Popi & Sinbad — Bornean orangutans
🧡 Allie & Mari — Sumatran orangutans

While there are physical differences between the species, every orangutan is an individual, too, with their own appearance, personality, preferences, relationships, and way of navigating the world.

And one thing all three orangutan species have in common? Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli orangutans are all critically endangered.

International Orangutan Day is an opportunity to learn more about these extraordinary great apes and why protecting their wild counterparts and their forest homes matters.

Today is International Orangutan Day, and at the Center for Great Apes, we have 27 very special reasons to celebrate.Our...
08/19/2026

Today is International Orangutan Day, and at the Center for Great Apes, we have 27 very special reasons to celebrate.

Our 27 orangutan residents range from 6-year-old Cahaya to 55-year-old Popi. They came to sanctuary from many different circumstances—entertainment, the exotic pet trade, research facilities, roadside attractions, and other situations.

Today, they share something important: a permanent sanctuary home.

The Center for Great Apes is the only orangutan sanctuary in Americas accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS). Providing lifelong care means nutritious meals, individualized veterinary care, daily enrichment, companionship, and habitats and aerial trailways designed to give orangutans opportunities to climb, explore, rest, and make choices about how they spend their days.

For us, Orangutan Day isn't simply one date on the calendar. With 27 orangutans depending on us for lifetime care, every day is Orangutan Day. 🧡🦧

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Wauchula, FL

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+18637678903

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