After being in confinement, a chimpanzee has the cutest response when it sees the sky for the first time.

The number of animals that live their entire lives imprisoned in captivity and never get to experience life outside of their cage is tragic.

That was the case for one chimpanzee, who, after a lifetime of captivity, recently experienced her first taste of freedom. Her reaction when she saw the sky for the first time will make you cry.

Chimpanzee Vanilla, 28, has lived in rigorous captivity her entire life. She was raised away from her mother in a renowned biomedical research lab in New York throughout her early years in order to make her a more suitable subject for experiments.

Animal rights activists condemned the terrible lab for decades. According to Dan Mathews of Save the Chimps, Jane Goodall called the location a “hellhole.” “The chimps there never saw daylight; they just watched TV.”

Later, Vanilla was sent to a California sanctuary. Although she was not subjected to experiments, her circumstances weren’t much better: WFLA claimed that she was housed in a cage surrounded by a chain-link fence devoid of any vegetation or enrichment.

Save the Chimps told the WFLA that “she had never been outside of a lab cage or the garage-sized enclosure she was transferred to in California.”

She and her sister Shake, however, were sent to the nonprofit wildlife sanctuary Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, Florida, last year, and it turned out to be a breathtaking change of scenery.

Vanilla is shown in a Save the Chimps film looking amazed at her first-ever view of the sky.

 

According to the sanctuary, Vanilla was afraid to go outdoors at all, but Dwight, the alpha chimp, comforts her and gives her a hug. Vanilla is filled with wonder when she finally sees the blue sky that she has been missing her entire life.

Dan Mathews told the Post, “She is clearly elated to have suddenly found freedom.”

Subsequently in the film, Vanilla is seen strolling around the three-acre island and taking in the grass, clean air, and amenities that she had been denied her entire life.

After a difficult beginning, Vanilla’s life is beginning to improve. Vanilla and Shake “regularly enjoy the freedom” of the sanctuary and get along well with their other chimps, according to Save the Chimps.

The sanctuary informed WFLA that she gets along with all 18 of the chimps on her island and has a playful connection with the alpha male, Dwight, from whom she takes food.

Matthews stated, “Vanilla has a long future; she can live here for another 30 or 40 years.” She is overjoyed to finally have her own space and what is almost like a natural habitat. She’s accepting it.

That is really lovely! We are happy that Vanilla now has the freedom she deserves and won’t ever be imprisoned once more. Enjoy your blue skies, Vanilla!

Please tell this endearing tale!