Sally Jones, 1950-1997
Sally Jones, approximately 47, longtime resident of The Fund for Animals' Black Beauty Ranch in Texas, passed away at 4:00 PM, March 21, 1997. As an infant chimpanzee, Sally was captured in Africa around 1950. Like many wild-caught chimps of this era, she was shipped to the United States, and spent the next twenty years working in the circus. She walked upright, permormed ballet, and was an accomplished bicycle rider, even though she still had buckshot in her abdomen from her capture. This injury kept her from reproducing.
In 1970, she was acquired by the Institute for Primate Studies in Norman, Oklahoma. She spent the next thirteen years in Oklahoma, living in a large chimpanzee group which was involved in behavioral and cognitive research at the University of Oklahoma. In 1982, following the sale of the Oklahoma chimp colony to medical research, she came to live at Black Beauty Ranch, and became the companion to Nim Chimpsky, who had also been at the Institute. The vast majority of Sally's companions at the Institute ended up at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates, affiliated with New York University.
In 1993, Sally suffered from a stroke, from which she fully recovered. Around this time she was diagnosed with diabetes, which had been successfully managed over the last few years. Sally was one of the oldest living chimpanzees in the United States.
Sally is survived by her companion of fifteen years, Nim Chimpsky, and by Ranch Manager Chris Byrne and the staff of Black Beauty Ranch and countless friends, all of whom were touched by her sweet disposition and amiable character. She will be fondly missed by all of them. The new expansion of the chimp outdoor play area at Black Beauty Ranch will be dedicated in Sally's memory.
