Chimpanzee sees sky for first time in her life after being caged for 28 years

A heartwarming video of chimpanzee seeing the sky for the first time after being locked in a cage for 28 years has been shared by a charity.

Vanilla spent the first years of her life locked in a tiny cage in New York’s infamous Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP).

She was rescued in 1995 sent to the Wildlife Waystation but all her homes had a cage roof.

Vanilla sees the open sky for the first time

Finally, after being rescued by Save The Chimps, she was able to see the sky.

A video shared by the charity shows Vanilla and her friends Shake, Magic, Jeff, and Ernesta being let out into the sunshine for the first time. She was a little nervous, but the video shows the alpha, Dwight, encouraging her to come out of her cage.

The little chimp leapt into Dwight's arms.

Immediately she realised her surroundings and looked up at the sky for the first time in her life.

Her eyes were wide and she opened her mouth in shock, clearly awestruck by her new world. Vanilla and her chimp family now live on Air Force Island, with charity Save the Chimps.

They have a three acre island to explore and are free to choose where and how they spend their days.

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