Overview
- Heavy rains this week inundated much of the 150‑acre Save the Chimps sanctuary in Fort Pierce, leaving large areas submerged and staff unable to reach parts of the property.
- Sanctuary CEO Ana Paula Tavares and staff say about 200 rescued chimpanzees are secure on higher‑elevation islands and have continued to receive food, medication, blankets and enrichment.
- With tractors, trailers and donated equipment failing to cross floodwater, the team began using drones to drop bananas, other food and blankets to animals when ground access was impossible.
- Facilities director Mark Yohannan said nearly 15 golf carts and a donated swamp buggy were rendered unusable, and the sanctuary is requesting temporary high‑clearance four‑wheel‑drive vehicles and financial donations to sustain care and recovery.
- The flooding follows a regional storm that dumped roughly 19–20 inches of rain and triggered hundreds of rescues, making this the worst flooding Save the Chimps staff say they have seen in 25 years and raising concerns about longer recovery needs for the facility and local infrastructure.