As part of its FedEx Cares “Delivering for Good” initiative, the logistics giant agreed to fly seven chimpanzees from a shutdown California refuge to an island sanctuary in “Sunrise City” Fort Pierce, Florida.

The chimps — dubbed “the Sunrise Seven” — arrived over the Fourth of July weekend, just in time for World Chimpanzee Day on July 14.

Vanilla, Shake, Cayleb, Ernesta, Jacob, Jeff and Magic are some of the last of over 400 animals to be rehomed after the unaccredited refuge Wildlife Waystation in Sylmar went out of business in 2019 under threats of wildfires. The seven chimps, retired from research labs and the entertainment industry, were flown by FedEx for free from Los Angeles to Orlando via Memphis and transported in a climate-controlled truck donated by Pero Family Farms to the island sanctuary Save the Chimps.

“The chimps are adjusting very well to their new home and have already made new friends,” said Ana Paula Tavares, Save the Chimps CEO. “We salute FedEx and Pero Family Farms for their help in this emergency rescue.”

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The transfer was a joint effort from the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, who raised emergency funds through their Chimpanzees in Need campaign to transfer dozens of chimps from the defunct sanctuary.

The Sunrise Seven are currently undergoing a two-month quarantine before they will be introduced to larger social groups in the sanctuary’s community of 222 chimps.

“These chimpanzees have experienced much turmoil in their lives, and they finally will have much brighter days ahead, thanks to Save the Chimps,” NAPSA Program Director Erika Fleury said.

Niki Scheinberg is a news intern at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at monika.scheinberg@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: FedEx flies rescued chimps 'Sunrise Seven' to Florida sanctuary