Primates Froze To Death At Texas Animal Sanctuary During Freeze

A non-profit primate sanctuary near San Antonio is mourning the deaths of several animals that were in their care, due to the freezing temperatures battering Texas this week. Primarily Primate is a 501(c)3 nonprofit located on 70 acres of land on the outskirts of San Antonio. Workers and volunteers at Primarily Primate have been working tirelessly for days trying to protect the animals in their care from the bitterly cold winter storm that hit Texas this week.

Initially, caretakers tried to hunker down and ride out the storm at the facility by grabbing extra blankets, space heaters, generators, and more. Once the temperatures got into the single digits they knew they needed to evacuate. According to San Antonio Express-News, workers began the difficult process of moving the over 400 primates to the San Antonio Zoo who were waiting to welcome the animals in. Animals were also transported to another animal sanctuary near the Oklahoma border. Sadly, as the caretakers started gathering the animals, they found some had already succumbed to the freezing weather outside.

Executive Director of Primarily Primates Brooke Chavez told the San Antonio Express-News that so far, they've found "a chimpanzee, several monkeys, some lemurs, and an uncounted number of birds" dead in their cages. Workers say they've never seen anything like this before and they won't know the full death toll until the snow thaws.

Primarily Primates have moved as many animals as they could and have several animals staying with volunteers for now, but there are several still at the facility. The nonprofit is now asking for help raising funds and essential items so they can continue helping the animals in their care. You can help by donating at the Primarily Primate website on the "Donate" tab, or asking friends or family in the area to drop off items from the list below: