Then two Canadians gave him and 14 other chimps in similar situations a home on their farm. Billy Jo and friends were part of a research project at New York University to find a cure for AIDS and hepatitis. Life at the lab was painful and lonely. The chimps had many operations, tests, and shots. One chimp had 137 liver operations.
Chimps have a lot in common with humans.
That's why they're used to test drugs that fight deadly diseases. Luckily, those diseases, which often kill humans, don't kill chimps. They did, however, suffer disabilities. Animal-rights activist Gloria Grow and veterinarian Richard Allan worried about the chimps. They decided the chimps, who can live to be 60 years old, deserved a nice retirement home.