The roads at Save the Chimps were gone, swallowed by a lake of brown floodwater. Golf carts sat submerged. A heavy-duty swamp buggy had coughed and died. And somewhere out on a three-acre island, a chimpanzee named Kaleb was waiting for breakfast.
So the sanctuary did what any resourceful caregiver might do in a pinch: it called in a drone.
For nearly 60 hours earlier this month, historic rainfall pounded St. Lucie County, dumping more than 16 inches in some spots and turning the 150-acre sanctuary west of Fort Pierce into an impassable wetland. The chimpanzees themselves were never in danger their island care houses sit on high ground, and veterinarians stayed overnight to keep watch. The crisis was logistical. Staff normally ferry 3,000 pounds of food a day by golf cart. Now the carts were dead, the canals were overflowing, and the internal roads had vanished beneath the murk.
Most of the 200 chimps could still be reached by tractor or a maintenance worker’s personal truck. But Kaleb had wandered into an outdoor area completely cut off by the rising water. Facilities director Mark Yohannan remembered the delivery drone the sanctuary had purchased some time ago, specifically for emergencies like this. Staff loaded a paper bag with bananas and sent it buzzing over the flood.
Video captured the moment: Kaleb ambles over, plucks the bag from the dropped payload, and casually peels a banana while standing in what looks like a shallow pond. Later, he picked his own way across a rope bridge to drier ground.
By Saturday, the water had receded enough that about 20% of the roads were clear. But the damage is substantial ruined vehicles, mold remediation needed, roof repairs pending. The sanctuary, which has cared for nearly 350 chimpanzees rescued from labs, the pet trade, and entertainment since 1997, is now asking the public for help.
Yohannan said the chimpanzees never missed a meal. “They’re good,” he said. “They haven’t missed a beat”.
Even the local alligators seemed to agree. A small one turned up near the sanctuary kitchen Friday, apparently exploiting the flood to explore new terrain. No word on whether it also received a drone delivery.
