Annie — Thursday, January 10, 2002

Dear friends and family of Fauna, it is with profound sadness and shock that we announce the death of another of the Fauna Foundation's chimpanzee residents.

Annie, the matriarch of the chimpanzees at Fauna, died at approximately 5:30pm on Thursday January 10th. The preliminary autopsy performed by Dr. Richard Allen revealed that the cause of her death was a ruptured intestine.

For everyone here, at Fauna, it is much too soon to be experiencing and sharing another loss. Gloria wanted to share her feelings with you all, which you can read at the end of this message.

Pablo's death on October 6th and the condition of his body as a result of his years in medical research made us realize that the chimpanzees at Fauna lived their lives before sanctuary as used and abused property. No amount of attention and comfort in their new home at Fauna will be able to erase the damage already done.

In some ways, the humans, and probably the chimpanzees as well, were better prepared for Annie's death because she was 42 years old and was being treated for diabetes. What we were not prepared for, however, was to find that her internal body showed similar signs of her laboratory past as Pablo's had, such as numerous intestinal adhesions. We are seeking more information about these similarities and trying to fully understand the pain and discomfort that many of the chimpanzees likely experience on a daily basis.

Annie was a remarkable person. She had incredible social skills and an uncanny ability to keep everyone, human and non-human, "in-check". There is nothing comparable to an Annie-greeting. She expressed such happiness at seeing her friends and made everyone feel like a cherished person in her life. She also let you know when you had done something to offend her, and many humans invested a great deal of time making up with Annie and ensuring that she was not angry. She just had this effect on people—as Gloria has said, she commanded and deserved the respect that she received.

All of the chimpanzees were given the opportunity to see Annie's body after she had passed away, and this respect was reflected in their final good-byes. Donna Rae, Annie's best friend, and Rachel, whom Annie had protected and befriended early on, also expressed something else—anger. Both Rachel and Donna Rae started by gently grooming Annie, but then began to hit her body in frustration. This anger reflects a part of what we humans are feeling as well.

Annie played a very crucial role in the lives of everyone at Fauna, and her presence will be missed tremendously.

May she rest in peace.

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At a time when we are all still desperately trying to adjust and make some sense of Pablo's tragic life and his early death another tragedy and injustice hits our family at Fauna.

The saddest day has come, our leader and matriarch, the most beautiful chimpanzee inside and out, a loving, admired and respected member of our family here, our dear Annie has been taken from us.

I'm not sure how we'll survive this enormous loss. We worry for our Donna Rae who is so, so sad, laying in her bed covering herself with blankets, for Binky who seems so disconnected, for poor Rachel who cannot cope with so much of her life already and now has this, the worst of all things in life, the loss of someone she loved so much. We worry for Jethro who has turned in on himself and is so quiet, for Chance who has lost the only Mother she ever really had and so much more that we don't even know.

This blow has come when we can barely cope with any more sadness. The heart of Fauna is gone, the kindest, most sensitive, funny, brave, loyal and true friend I have ever had in my life has left us... she who taught us so much. In the most shocking and sad days ever our angel Annie has passed away.

No one knew it was coming; Annie fought and remained her beautiful dignified self, giving us reassurance and offering her hand in love even as she lay in terrible pain. My friend, my teacher, our leader, Mother to some and best friend to everyone. One of the true loves in my life and, without a doubt, the most important person in the lives of Donna Rae, Binky, Tom, Rachel, Chance, Jethro, Regis, Petra, Pepper, Sue Ellen, Yoko, Pablo, Billy Jo and even Jeannie who felt the special touch of love and friendship from Annie. the touch of love we who lived with her were privileged enough to have shared and we will forever cherish those memories.

Read some of the many condolence letters from friends we have received since the notice of her death was first sent out to the Fauna community.

Read the Fauna News article Damaging Procedures by John Mulcahy, discussing the toll research practices take on the bodies of laboratory chimpanzees.