Chimpanzee Who "Never Felt Grass Beneath Her Feet Before" Bursts with Joy at Seeing Sky for First Time

The animal protection organization Save the Chimps has a single mission: To Provide Sanctuary and Exemplary Care to chimpanzees in need. One of the largest chimpanzee sanctuaries in the world, the group offers life-long care for chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories, the pet trade, and the entertainment industry. One of their most recent rescues, Vanilla, is winning the hearts of Americans in a touching video that has gone viral. In it the magnificent human-like creature sees the sky for the first time and gets so excited, she just can't hide it. 

On Tuesday, Save the Chimps shared a video of the 29-year-old chimpanzee getting introduced to her new outdoor island home at the rescue's sanctuary in Florida. Vanilla spent her life in a biomedical research laboratory in New York, before arriving in Florida. 

In the clip, Vanilla looks out of a doorway, hesitant to step into her new home. However, once she takes a step, she jumps up and down in excitement and passionately hugs an alpha male chimp named Dwight. 

"Dwight, the alpha male who's in charge of the chimps, coaxed her out with open arms," Dan Mathews with Save The Chimps told the New York Post. "In the video, you see her going into his arms for a hug. It is the first time she was outdoors with more than 10 feet of fence around her on all sides from top to bottom," he said, adding that Vanilla was "clearly elated to have suddenly found freedom."

According to Matthews, her previous home "was a horrible lab and protested by animal rights activists for decades. Jane Goodall targeted the place as a hellhole," he told the New York Post. "The chimps there watched TV and never saw the light of day. Vanilla was one of the last who could have been tested," he continued. "Researchers drew blood and did biopsies."

"Vanilla has a long future; she can live here for another 30 or 40 years," he said. "She seems glad to have her own world, to finally have the closest thing to a natural habitat. She is embracing it."

If you want to help Vanilla and the Save the Chimps foundation, you can donate or adopt her on their website.