0 Thank you Bramwood Timber Products Glynneath!!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 30-10-2024

We asked and you supplied! Many many thanks to the team at Bramwood Timber Products Ltd who answered our calling for a new house for Darcy, our giant rabbit.   Bramwood make a whole range of products, including summerhouses, workshops and kennels. Go to their website HERE! The house they've made for Darcy is bespoke with a door and a hinged roof which will make it easier for cleaning. We cannot thank them enough for creating and donating Darcy's house to the sanctuary.   THANK YOU AGAIN xxx

0 Thank you Canine Clear!!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 29-10-2024

Massive thanks to Canine Clear for donating Mobility Max chews to us since July this year!   We have seen an unbelievable improvement in Vinnie, our Black Mouth Cur.   He is very young and we had him X-rayed at the vets because he was limping. Poor Vinnie has hip dysplasia and was put on pain relief.   Canine clear have been kind enough to donate the chews to us and if anyone has a limping, arthritic dog then it is definitely something to try. Please have a look at their website HERE!!   Vinnie is no longer on any pain relief and is literally bouncing and running everywhere. He has a new lease of life!   We are trying Gizzly on the chews next as he is struggling lately with his legs as a 14 year old Belgian Shepherd.    Thank you CANINE CLEAR. We really appreciate your support xxx       

0 Rosie gives talk to Ystradgynlais W.I !!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 29-08-2024

Rosie was only too happy to go to Ystradgynlais W.I in July to give a talk on the sanctuary   They found it very interesting & informative ... and there was cake!  If you'd like us to give you a talk on the sanctuary please email rosie@ape-monkey-rescue.org.uk

0 THANK YOU TOVALI !!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 28-08-2024

We asked and you certainly delivered!   THANK YOU so much to TOVALI in Carmarthen who have donated squash to the chimps     This squash was literally straight off the production line & it's homemade in Wales  Rosie had a little tour of the factory whilst collecting the donation and was fascinated to say the least.     Thank you Tovali, we're good for squash for a while now   Have a look at Tovali's website HERE, their squash is also available in supermarkets and a well known online shopping site with a 'Z' in the middle of it!

0 Thank you for your generosity!!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 09-08-2024

We are blown away by your generosity!! KEEP IT COMING :)    Recently, we posted on Facebook that if you are visiting, could you bring along any kind of fruit/ vegetable to donate on arrival. The response has been utterly amazing & its heart warming to know how much you love our animals   You also raised over £2200 on Facebook, an incredible amount!!!  THANK YOU  THANK YOU  THANK YOU  Our animals eat ALL kinds of fruit & vegetable so please bring something along with you. Donations can be handed in to reception when you get your entry tickets.   Again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts xxx   PS You cannot feed our animals!    

0 NAKIMA 18 YEARS AT THE SANCTUARY!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 07-07-2024

Nakima has been here 18 years today!!   Our diva, Her Royal highness, Our Queen, our Boss Lady, The one and only Keeks.   Just a few of the names we have for our beautiful Nakima who has been here 18 years. Here is her full story: Nakima was born around 1975 and was captured in the forests somewhere in Tropical Africa. She was smuggled into Belgium as a baby. Who knows what fate befell her parents certainly her mother would have been killed trying to protect her.   Once in Belgium Nakima was found by the authorities and confiscated, and we do not know what her illegal destination was. The authorities then contacted Sonia a brave and dedicated lady who was already looking after animals in a similar predicament to Nakima. She already cared for a number of chimpanzees so Nakima was quickly integrated into Sonia’s large extended family where she had the run of the house and grounds and companions of her own species.   Nakima lived with Sonia until she was twenty-nine years old. The law then changed and Sonia was not allowed to keep her. Three chimps were removed from Sonia’s care and taken to Natuurhulpcentrum Wildlife Rescue. Two of the chimps died but Nakima lived at the Centre for two years alone. Sonia was still permitted to visit her but Nakima’s days of roaming freely around her home were over.   Nakima was well cared for within the confines of the Centre but with no companionship of her own species and no outdoor enclosure she was socially deprived. She loves Sonia and looked forward to her visits but this offered no long-term solution. We were contacted by the Centre and asked if we could find room for Nakima here.   Freddie one of our adult male chimps also in his thirties seemed to offer hope to Nakima. Freddie had also lost his companion Peter and could not be integrated with either of our other groups as both contain adult alpha males.   Discussions began and after we were visited both by staff of Natuurhulpcentrum and by Sonia arrangements began for Nakima to travel to Wales. Finally on July 7th 2006 Nakima arrived at Heathrow Airport quite unperturbed by her journey.   Nakima is a petite chimp far smaller than any of our others. She and Freddie immediately established a rapport and are getting on really well together. For all her small stature Nakima was not intimidated by Freddie and now the other boys, and makes sure that she has her fair share of the food.   Nakima enjoys bananas, grapes, peaches, plums, lettuce, yoghurts and treats of all kinds including sweets and crisps. She also likes cherry pies - eating the inside and throwing away the pastry.   Nakima was given a blanket and for some time would not be parted from it wrapping herself in it even outside. Sonia has visited Nakima and was delighted with her progress, as are we also. Two lonely chimps had now found one another!   In June 2007 another companion arrived from Germany – Ronnie a lonely male chimp from a German Zoo has now found two friends and all three got along really well.   When Freddie died of old age, Nakima and Ronnie joined the group of Twmi and Fergus all of whom are getting on well together. Nakima still loves to have a blanket or sweater to wear and she has a substantial wardrobe to choose from – she is the star of many TV and newspaper items worldwide. She even has her own personalised Swansea City Football Club Shirt and appears on their fan club page on FaceBook. She also has her own page! She has made friends with Bili as long as he toes the line and remembers who is boss!   Thank you for all the love you show Nakima, means the world :)     

0 THANK YOU FOR THE BANANA'S & SQUASH!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 02-07-2024

THANK YOU to Julia, Alison & Anne-Marie for your online orders from Tesco & Asda   THANK YOU to all the visitors who have been bringing items with them   Bananas & squash = PERFECT   One of the drivers said to Rosie... You must get really busy here needing all this squash for people! Rosie replied "it's for the chimps" .. Imagine his face We've had over 70 bottles of squash donated to us which we are SO grateful for The chimps are lucky to have you THANK YOU

0 Top Student Wins Top Award for dissertation at House Of Commons!!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 03-05-2024

Huge Congratulations to our Izzy who received an accreditation top project award from the Royal Society of Biology at the House of Commons last week  Izzy's dissertation was a study in to public perception of animal sanctuaries & their role in animal welfare through studying chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)   "Does anthropomorphism aid animal conservation?" earned Izzy the highest project mark awarded across the year at the University of South Wales!!   Izzy said "My dissertation would not have been possible without Jan, Graham and the wonderful staff at WAMS. It was an honour to spend every day at the sanctuary talking to visitors and observing the chimpanzees, and I learnt so much. The sanctuary welcomed me with open arms, as they always do, and were so supportive throughout my project. I feel so lucky to help shine a light on their dedication to the rescued animals they care for, as they really pave the way for what it means to be a true Sanctuary"   Thank you to all the visitors who answered Izzy's questions & Congratulations on an amazing result You should feel very proud          

0 Please sign our petition!!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 18-01-2024

We need your help!   We have a very URGENT petition that we would like you to sign. It only takes a minute and it's so important to us. Here is the link, Please click. The petition is called 'Install traffic calming measures at our sanctuary, NOW!'.   Some of you may know that the sanctuary is in 2 halves as there is a single track lane that goes through it. This lane is 60mph! We manage the car park to the best of our ability but we cannot control speeding vehicles coming through. We have campaigned and done petitions over the last 25 years but Powys Council don't see a problem. We recently had a meeting with GoSafe, Dyfed Powys Police, Chief of Staff to Fay Jones MP and 3 council workers. From this meeting, the council decided that the road does not qualify for any 'traffic calming' and that we would need a meeting with a different council worker. Iain, Chief of Staff to Fay Jones MP, wrote to this council worker and they have point blank refused a meeting. We have the full backing of Dyfed Powys Police and GoSafe. Iain and Fay have both written on 3/4 occasions now to Lee Waters MS (The man who has campaigned for 20mph in Wales) to help us with the lane. As yet, he has still not responded and this is why we have had to start a petition.   We want visitors to feel safe when they're here and it is a shame that Powys Council do not feel the same.   Please sign NOW.   We really appreciate your support. Thank you.          

0 LOCAL ENGINEERING FIRM HELPS MONKEYS!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 05-01-2024

Brass monkeys no more!! During Christmas and New Year, our biomass boiler broke down. The boiler heats the whole sanctuary, this includes all the monkey bedrooms and the shop. It also gives us hot water! As there is no mains gas in the area, the biomass boiler is the safest way to heat everywhere- we would never have to worry about a gas leak for example. So when the boiler stopped working, Graham stripped it down and identified the problem- the end of the auger had sheared off and we needed a new gearbox for the feeder. The gearbox wasn't a problem as we managed to order that for next day delivery. The problem was the end piece of the auger. Previously, this whole auger had to be ordered from Italy which took over 1 month. We simply couldn't go through that again. A-ha!! Rosie remembered she knew someone who worked at a local engineering company. A quick message was sent and Rosie and Graham went straight down to WECORI to speak to the engineers. They we really happy to help us and were going to start manufacturing the broken part that same afternoon. We were delighted, even more so that by 12pm the next day, it was ready to collect. That same night, Graham put the boiler back together and the heating and hot water was back. Bliss!   To have such great support from a local firm, means the world. Not only did Wecori make the part that we needed, they saved us thousands of pounds, they saved us time in waiting and saved the monkeys from potentially freezing. We really do appreciate   THANK YOU ERYL, PAUL & TEAM AT WECORI x