Fiffy is doing well!

Among the many sad stories of the animals at AAP, Fiffy's story is one of the most tragic. At the same time, the change she went through is one of the most spectacular: she had a complete makeover, in appearance and in nature.

After a hazardous rescue operation - Director David van Gennep was under constant threat of Fiffy's owner at the time - Fiffy arrived in Almere in the evening of 16 May 2008. That morning, David showed up, under police protection, at the neglected little zoo in the area of Paris, where Fiffy had lived for 36 years. At first, she was brought up as a human child, but when she became eight years old, Fiffy had reached puberty and was banned to the attic of the estate's gatehouse.

Locked up

There she stayed locked up for the next 28 years. Fiffy was a clean housewife: she put her dirt away through the bars, so it could be cleared away (of course in exchange for food). But you can guess how the rest of the place looked... De entrance door to the cage was welded. Only at the time the door was broken, it became clear in what bad shape she was. She was fattened up in a sickening way - she weighed almost 85 kg (a female chimpanzee normally weighs around 45 kg). Fiffy started to climb right away

Careful

In her old environment, Fiffy looked scared and confused, and reacted agressively when she was approached. But once used to the clean, light quarantine room at the chimpanzee building at AAP, she appeared to be very friendly and self-assured. Without any hesitation she started to climb, which she had not done since her early childhood, and did not give up when she did not succeed straight away. She also listened very carefully to the chimpanzee sounds around her, what she found very scary in the beginning. It was a great but also a terrifying moment when she finally opened her mouth and answered the neighbours: a very deep, impressive bass voice came out of that female body!

Healthy diet

A female body, because AAP's experts did not do nothing. Within a week after her arrival, the old menu of pasta, biscuits and soft drinks was replaced by a healthy diet with vegetables and low on carbohydrates. Fiffy was very willing to cooperate on this diet and had, by the time she was introduced to her new mates Jim, Julio and Freddy, changed from "the monster on the attic" into an elegant Frenchwoman.

Star

At the moment, Fiffy and her three men are a close and stable group. It was love at first sight between Freddy and Fiffy, Jim is a kind of brother to her and she has a lot of respect for Julio. Fortunately, the men can get along together very well too. But one thing is for sure: Fiffy is the unquestioned star of the party!

Go to Fiffy's photo album