I love the whole concept of the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary. The volunteer at the entrance told me they refer to the place as a “retirement home.” What they do is rescue primates who were in private homes or laboratories and give them a safe and more stable environment for their remaining days.
It’s a small sanctuary, easily walkable, and with a large picnic area, small garden-like resting area, and good signage. You can’t get lost. Although it’s a primate sanctuary, over the years, they’ve also rescued exotic birds, alligators, lemurs and a tortoise named Poncho that they occasionally let out of his fenced-in area to roam around. I mean, he’s not likely to make a run for it, right?
I also discovered Magillan, a chimp who eyed me for a minute before patting the top of his head and nodding “yes.” It took me a minute to realize he was indicating the visor I had on and asking for confirmation. When I touched the brim of the visor, he nodded “yes” and patted his head again. There was a board member at the sanctuary that day who told me years before they’d had a volunteer who was teaching one of the chimps sign language. As it turned out, many others nearby were paying attention. I’m guessing she was wearing a hat on some of those hot Florida days and Magillan liked it.
And then there’s the orangutan, Pongo. As he hung from the top of the bars, I watched him position his feet on either side of a huge barrel and then roll it from side to side as he simultaneously pushed it forward, maneuvering himself around the perimeter of the cage. I thought it was his way of having fun but was told he hated getting his feet wet and when they’d hosed down the floor of his cage, that’s how he avoided the water. Clever boy.
The sanctuary could use some sprucing up and fortunately, they have a new board of directors that’s working on it. They have goals of painting all the enclosures, replacing sleeping perches, providing more toys and building new and larger enclosures called primate domes so the animals have extra room to run and swing and play.
There are nice places to stop and rest and as I said earlier, a large picnic area for groups. Although there are varied surfaces on the paths, I think they would be accessible for wheelchairs – perhaps a bit bumpy, but accessible.
The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary is a non-profit and could use your help. The staff is all volunteer so if you have a couple of extra hours in your week, maybe offer to man the entrance, or sweep a sidewalk, or bag the peanuts for the chimps. Watch their Facebook posts to see what they need.
The entry fee is $10 for seniors and another $1 if you want to buy a bag of peanuts to give to the monkeys (how could you resist?). They’re located at 4600 Alternate 19 North, Palm Harbor (about 10 minutes from Tarpon Springs). Call 727-943-5897 if you need more information.
Lisa Browder 
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