![]() ![]() Within a year of the California sanctuary’s closure, wildlife facilities around the country took in most of the animals, including more than half the chimpanzees. Flores is one of a handful of staff still caring for the sanctuary’s remaining animals. “There was no out,” says Anher Flores of the chimps’ living conditions at the lab. Right: At LEMSIP, the chimps lived alone in these aluminum cages, which Wildlife Waystation has used only to transport the animals during emergencies. Most of the chimps had come from laboratories where they’d been used for medical research a few were cast-offs from the movie industry or pets surrendered by overwhelmed owners. Among them were wolves, lions, tigers, camels, foxes, servals, tortoises-and 42 chimpanzees. Its closure left more than 480 animals in urgent need of new homes. Wildlife Waystation-a 160-acre, privately owned animal sanctuary in Sylmar, California, that opened in 1976-folded in August 2019, plagued by longstanding financial troubles, among other problems. “WILD ANIMALS BITE FINGERS.” A half-completed cleaning checklist is clipped next to the cage door, as if the animals’ keepers will be back at any moment. “DANGER,” reads a sign on an empty enclosure. An eerie silence hangs over grounds that had once reverberated with the roaring of African lions and the squawking of exotic birds. SYLMAR, CALIFORNIAThe scene behind the chain-link gate brings to mind a derelict frontier town-but instead of nature reclaiming a sheriff’s office and saloon, weeds and vines are overtaking hundreds of rusting cages in an abandoned wildlife sanctuary.
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