Florida chimpanzee gets his own drone bananas delivery

The staff at the Save the Chimps sanctuary deployed cutting-edge technology to feed animals isolated by floods in Florida, including a chimpanzee.
A 38-year-old chimpanzee named Kaleb received banana feasts and blankets through a delivery drone while water levels dropped.
The community applauded the dedication of the team that protected nearly two hundred apes sheltered on the premises.

The ingenious aerial deployment that saved Kaleb’s feeding amid the disaster

Intense tropical storms that battered the state of Florida overflowed the internal channels of the Save the Chimps sanctuary, transforming usual access paths into impassable rivers of stagnant water that blocked the passage of land cargo vehicles. Given the impossibility of moving the golf carts that daily transport over thirteen hundred kilograms of food, the facilities team had to improvise an emergency aerial maneuver to rescue Kaleb, a 38-year-old chimpanzee who became trapped in an open-air area surrounded by the current.

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Caregivers used a modern delivery drone previously acquired for disaster situations to send packages containing bananas, oranges and blankets directly into the primate’s hands, leaving striking images that touched the entire community while the clever animal enjoyed his feast before carefully crossing a rope bridge toward a safe zone.

Emergency logistics and coexistence with wildlife during the crisis

Ensuring the well-being of the nearly two hundred apes sheltered across this 61-hectare Save the Chimps terrain required a titanic effort from caregivers, who camped out on the property to prevent interruptions in the residents’ medical and nutritional routines. Although the main housing units sit on elevated grounds safe from floods in Florida, the collapse of internal transport and the breakdown of an all-terrain swamp vehicle forced staff to use tractors and even personal pickup trucks to bring supplies and food on time. To make matters worse, floods in Florida brought unexpected surprises by dragging small local alligators near the sanctuary kitchen, an additional challenge that the hardworking staff successfully overcame to maintain peace inside this wildlife refuge that has saved nearly 350 animals rescued from research laboratories, the entertainment industry, and the illegal pet trade, including Kaleb the chimpanzee.

The sanctuary’s recovery process and the rescuers’ solidarity

As waters began to recede significantly over the weekend, the Save the Chimps staff cleared approximately twenty percent of internal routes to restore daily routines on the Fort Pierce property. However, material scars left by floods in Florida storms damaged roads and battered equipment, prompting the organization to launch a fundraising campaign where a generous donor agreed to match every contribution received. This inspiring story of food delivery via delivery drone and technology serving the animal kingdom touched the community’s heart, reaffirming the value of human commitment when protecting vulnerable species against the harshness of climate change, just like this chimpanzee named Kaleb.