Support Shu Shu & Friends' Golden Years

Meet Shu Shu!

Shu Shu is known for her love of plushies and her sweet demeanor. She is also a blanket aficionado, a drama-queen, a mother, and a victim of abuse in the name of biomedical research.

Born in 1969, Shu Shu spent the first 27 years of her life at LEMSIP, the now-defunct Laboratory of Experimental Surgery in Primates. She was in the lab’s breeding program, forced to give birth to infants she was never allowed to raise. Her life, lived within the confines of a small space without access to nature or the outdoors, was punctuated with every indignity possible. Intelligent, curious, and social, Shu Shu was deprived of the opportunity to engage in her natural behavior, robbed of the chance to be a chimpanzee.

In 1996, Shu Shu was given a better future, not just for herself, but for her infant son, Thomas. Finally, Shu Shu was free to be herself: a chimpanzee and a mother.

Now, in 2026, Shu Shu chooses how to spend her days, enjoying the fresh air, cuddling her plushies, bundling herself in blankets, and socializing with her troopmates. She even reunited with two of her daughters, separated from her as infants in the lab, and they live together, enjoying the bond stolen from them thirty years ago. Shu Shu lives boldly, charming all who know her, and she is turning 57 this year.

Shu Shu isn't the only senior chimpanzee at Primarily Primates. Her enclosure mate, Cheetah, is 54 years young, and he loves to play chase and receive toe tickles from his friends. Their neighbors, Buffy and April, are both 52, and they love to cuddle and groom on high platforms. They love the scenic view over our pond. Nearby, Vanessa, age 54, is a retired USAF chimp who loves sharing her snacks with her gal pals, Nicole and Laura. In the adjacent chimp housing array, Freckles Hope, age 54, lives with her best friends, Bubba and Justin, and she enjoys watching her friends silly antics while thumbing through picture books. Each of these residents have long, happy, healthy years ahead of them. Years they can spend continuing to be the chimps they are, a life they were denied before finding sanctuary at PPI. 

As Shu Shu, and the other senior chimps at PPI, get older, the lifetime care we promised begins to increase. Adding ramps and handholds for these chimpanzees as their mobility starts to decline can cost up to $5,000 for each enclosure. One veterinary visit can cost around $3,500. Prescriptions for heart conditions, joint health, and pain management can exceed $100 per month per chimpanzee. Nutritional supplements such as protein and multivitamins can improve their general health, but they also increase the cost of their daily care. And additional veterinary care, accessible ramps on play structures, and increased nutritional support are just a few of the ways we care for the individual needs of these amazing animals.  

Please consider donating to Primarily Primates for this year's Giving Day for Apes. PPI is committed to providing Shu Shu and her friends the best golden years possible, and we need help from compassionate donors like you. Be a part of their story and their joy; donate today!