Web Posted: 03/04/2006 12:00 AM CST
Cindy Tumiel
Express-News Staff Writer

A male chimpanzee being moved from Ohio State University to a sanctuary outside San Antonio died Thursday after sanctuary workers sedated him during a transfer from transport cages to living quarters, the university said.

The 35-year-old male, named Kermit, was one of nine chimpanzees sent to Primarily Primates in Leon Springs following the university's decision to close its chimpanzee center because of a lack of funds. The university is providing $324,000 to Primarily Primates to build enclosures for the animals and provide for their care.

Ohio State spokesman Earle Holland said handlers at the primate sanctuary were following accepted protocols for sedating and moving the chimps, which are five times stronger than humans and can become violent if confronted by strangers.

Kermit was obese, weighing close to 300 pounds, and required several doses of sedative, Holland said.

"They were in the middle of the process of getting him out and they realized he had stopped breathing," Holland said. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

Primarily Primates founder Wallace Swett did not return telephone calls for comment. The 75-acre sanctuary is home to more that 600 primates and exotic animals that were retired from medical research, zoos or the pet trade.

Sanctuary workers called veterinary staff at Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio to assist with transferring the remaining eight animals into living quarters. They were moved without incident.

Kermit's body was transported to the foundation, where a necropsy was done Friday. Foundation spokeswoman Julie Collins said results would be available in two or three weeks.

Animal groups have been critical of the university's decision, saying Primarily Primates is not capable of adequately caring for the animals.

The "irresponsible rush to discard the chimpanzees who brought such acclaim to the university has left one chimp dead and eight others abandoned at an unregulated and dangerously substandard facility," wrote Mary Beth Sweetland, a vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in a letter to the university.

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ctumiel@express-news.net
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