Florida Sanctuary Uses Drone to Rescue Isolated Chimpanzee from Flood
Florida heavy rains isolated a 38-year-old chimpanzee named Caleb at the Save the Chimps sanctuary. Staff successfully used a drone to drop food and blankets before he crossed a rope to safety.
Severe rainstorms in Florida recently prompted an extraordinary rescue operation at the Save the Chimps sanctuary near Fort Pierce, where flooding cut off access routes and left a 38-year-old chimpanzee named Caleb isolated by deep water. To ensure he remained supplied with food and essential gear, staff deployed a delivery drone that dropped bananas, fresh fruit, and blankets directly to him. The unusual operation was captured on camera, and Caleb later managed to reach a safer area using a rope stretched across the water, while caretakers continued efforts to feed the sanctuary's roughly 200 chimpanzees.
While most of the animals stayed safe in elevated enclosures, the 38-year-old chimpanzee found himself completely cut off in an open area surrounded by floodwaters, forcing management to dispatch a specialized drone for aerial resupply. The 150-acre sanctuary had previously acquired the delivery drone specifically for emergency scenarios, and after a specialized swamp buggy broke down, staff decided to deploy the aerial vehicle. Workers used the drone to drop paper bags filled with food, fresh fruit, and blankets to protect him from the cold and damp conditions.
Footage released from the facility showed Caleb enjoying a banana retrieved from one of the dropped bags, followed by scenes of him carefully and resolutely making his way across the standing water by walking along a taut rope until he reached a safe, accessible area on his own. Meanwhile, veterinarians and caretakers who stayed overnight through the storm used trucks, a maintenance worker's personal car, and a tractor to distribute bananas, oranges, and medication to all the other monkeys without missing a single meal.
The high floodwaters also affected local wildlife; on Friday, staff were surprised to discover a small alligator swimming directly toward the sanctuary's kitchen area, taking advantage of temporary waterways formed across normally dry ground. Over the weekend, the waters began to recede significantly, and about a fifth of the internal roads returned to normal operation, although some staff still struggled to reach the facility to relieve their exhausted colleagues due to blocked regional highways. Founded in 1997, the sanctuary has rehabilitated some 350 chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories, the illegal pet trade, and the entertainment industry, and has launched a public appeal for donations to repair storm-damaged facilities, with a private donor pledging to match all funds raised.
