Humans have a dark history of animal cruelty against some of the world’s most aware animals, like chimpanzees. And the impact of animal cruelty can be heartbreaking, which we see once again in a video that’s gone viral on social media.
CBS News (@cbsnews) posted a video to TikTok featuring a chimpanzee mesmerized by something that should have been an everyday view for her. Take a watch — it’s important.
@cbsnews This 28-year-old chimp was in absolute awe when she went outside and saw the sky for the first time ever. She had survived a research lab in New York, where animals were kept in small cages.
In the video, we see two chimpanzees, and when they see each other, they immediately jump into a hug you could feel the love through the screen. The text on the screen gives more context on what’s going on, and it’s heartbreaking.
“Chimp kept inside her whole life in awe at seeing the sky,” the text reads. And after the two are done hugging, the one who came out of the building looks up to the sky, and you can see the awe in her face. Something that should be so every day to her is otherworldly.
“This 28-year-old chimp was in absolute awe when she went outside and saw the sky for the first time ever,” the caption reads. “She had survived a research lab in New York, where animals were kept in small cages.”
In the comment section, people reacted strongly to the video.
“Why do we pat ourselves on the backs for being so kind after being so cruel?” one person wrote.
“This rips my heart to pieces,” another wrote.
“I crying like a baby how could people be so cruel to animals,” another comment reads.
“We don’t deserve these magnificent creatures ugh I am so sorry you had to live that way for so long,” added another viewer.
According to USA Today, the chimpanzee’s name is Vanilla, and she spent years at a biomedical research laboratory in New York where she was “suspended from the ground like bird cages.” In 1995, Vanilla was moved to California to live in an animal sanctuary before being rehomed.
“Chimpanzees are a difficult species to rehome,” the publication reports. “After it became illegal to do medical research on chimpanzees in 2015, U.S research facilities have been closing down or rehoming them. There hasn’t been enough space at good facilities to take them all in.”
