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          

0 NEW RESCUE AMBULANCE!!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 03-12-2023

New Rescue Ambulance!!We have been incredibly lucky to receive an anonymous & very generous donation which has enabled us to purchase a new ambulance!We are blown away at how kind people can be & are truly grateful Graphics have been done by none other than Si & his team at Elite Signs & Vehicle Graphics, who again have done a superb job All we need now is a rescue mission.... watch this space!Thank you, Thank you   

0 THANK YOU Morgan Construction Wales!!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 23-11-2023

We would like to say a massive thank you to Morgan Construction Wales for the donation of drainage pipes!   This is a huge saving for the sanctuary, especially at this time of year when visitor numbers are much lower.   When it rains in Wales- it rains! We will use the pipes to replace old ones. We are really grateful to Tom Rees for sorting the pipes for us and even delivering them :) Tom also gave us a huge cut off of a pipe (more like a barrel!) which we will give to the monkeys so they can play with it. Keep following our socials for a video!   Please follow the link above to their website for all your construction needs! Thanks again Tom and MCL. 

0 Meet the chimps!!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 12-11-2023

Meet our chimpanzees!   You will go with the Head Keeper to the chimp house and get to give the chimps scatter mix like dried fruit/ nuts (Nakima loves dried apricots!), you will also get to give them a drink if they want!   This is a unique experience! There's not many people who can say they've been so close to a chimp.   Duration 30 minutes Mon - Sat at 11.30am or 2.30pm Max 2 people Minimum age 10 (children between 10 - 13 will need to be accompanied by an adult so purchase a voucher for 2 people) 1 person £90 or 2 people £165. Please note, masks MUST be worn. Vouchers valid for 12 months and starting from January 2024. No refunds and vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash or into another persons name.   Due to the terrain of the sanctuary & nature of this experience, it may not be suitable for everyone. Please call us to discuss any mobility issues you may have before booking. Please call us to book between the hours of 9am - 5pm on 01639 730276!!      

0 Thank you to Butchers Dog Food!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 14-09-2023

A huge thank you to Butchers Dog Food for their generous donation of dog food!   As you can see from the photo, Vinnie is delighted. He is also the only one of dogs we could get a pic of but Nela, Grizzly, Karl, Fritz, Kaiser & Vinnie will enjoy very much.   It's so lovely to get a donation like this from such a big company. It helps our charity no end.   Thanks again to Butchers Pet Food x

0 The secret is out!!

• News
• by Rosie
• 29-08-2023

We've been keeping a secret for 3 months......   Say hello to RORY He was born 3 months ago, here at WAMS     ....And what a rollercoaster it's been!!   When we rescued our other Highlands last year, we knew Eltie was pregnant. She gave birth with no problems but little Rory couldn't feed from her as her udder was so close to the ground (years of being bred).   So, we put a pen in the Jan & Graham's dining room and in came Rory! Fresh hay, warmth & 24hr round the clock care. Jan was quick on to milk duty & he soon learnt that Jan was his surrogate cow mum, but he wasn't out of the woods yet!   The first couple of weeks were touch and go. We really didn't know if he would survive, hence the radio silence. He needed to be weighed everyday, which meant Nicola picking him up! Rory decided if he was being weighed, then he would poo aswell Mostly on Nicola btw     At one point, Graham even took Rory to the vets in the back of his car!   When Rory was strong enough, we moved him in to the barn and also brought his Mum in to be with him and bond.   Success! Mother & Son bonded and Rory is now out in the field with all the fold who all seem to love him He runs around and does little tiny 'moos'   The cows have 3 fields to wander around so we can't guarantee you will see them up close but for the last week of summer holidays we will be running 'highland cow buggy tours' in to the field (weather dependant of course) so you can get really close to them.