Nonprofit News

C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary

C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary, Inc.

Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered & Threatened Apes

A Federal U.S.D.A. Accredited Facility

Cheeta and DanC.H.E.E.T.A. stands for Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes. Our goal is to provide ex-show business apes and monkeys with a caring, nurturing, and loving home, and with enriching activities to stimulate their curiosity. Dan Westfall, who founded C.H.E.E.T.A. on April 30, 1991, said primate researcher Jane Goodall inspired him to create the sanctuary. During her recent visit to C.H.E.E.T.A. in October, 2006, Dr. Goodall said of Dan’s work, “This makes me feel like the world is still filled with people whose intents are wonderful and good.”

Jane and DanLarry King and DanOur animal haven is named after the character “Cheeta,” Tarzan’s humorous sidekick who starred in numerous movies during decades beginning over seventy years ago. Our sanctuary’s Cheeta was the best friend of a man who trained many chimps from that era. Cheeta was fortunate because his trainer was a kind man who cared for his animals, but others were not so lucky.

We’ve adopted Cheeta’s name for our organization to draw attention to animals used in the entertainment industry which were sometimes abused or even killed during their tenures as show props. C.H.E.E.T.A. exists to provide surviving animals, who often outlive their usefulness in industry, with a good home.

Monkeys and especially apes need a great deal of care and this care can become quite expensive. For example, Cheeta is elderly and requries insulin for his diabetes. Indoor areas must be air conditioned during our hot summers and heated in winter. Our refuge relies entirely on donations sent from kind-hearted people all over the world. A donation made to C.H.E.E.T.A. helps provide the animals with lifelong care. In recognition of people’s generosity, we are pleased to send gifts to our donors, including our apes’ famous Ape-Stract art.

Take me to the donations page for a painting.Our Cheeta

We welcome you to visit the pages of our website. We have numerous photographs of our animals, their art, gifts for donors, and photos of our hardworking volunteers.

Questions? Email us: cheetathechimp@cs.com
To Top