Val arrived along with Kathy after spending seven months in Qatar at the center of an international tug-of-war. The chimpanzees were found stuffed inside a cardboard tube and confiscated by customs officials at the Doha Airport in Qatar, foiling what was believed to have been an attempt to smuggle the pair to a private owner in the Middle East. But intense negotiations followed for months while Val and Kathy were held at the Doha Zoo in Qatar. Despite the ordeal, Val settled in quickly at Chimfunshi, and is naturally outgoing and playful.

Alice was captured by poachers in Cote d'Ivoire when she was thought to be just one week old, but was then acquired by Italian expatriates who cared for her at a tourist restaurant for the next three years. She lived in a small cage, but was generally treated well under being confiscated by Ivorian authorities and sent to Chimfunshi along with Cindy.

Commando reached Chimfunshi after an airlift from the Central African Republic sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). Orphaned by the bushmeat trade, he was suffering from a host of internal parasites and skin diseases, and he had been badly mistreated and abused by his captors -- who had knocked out his lower teeth to keep him from biting. In fact, Commando was so small and undernourished that veterinarians who examined him prior to his transfer gave him only a 40 percent chance of survival. Nevertheless, Commando quickly regained his health and is a close friend of Miracle.

Miracle is the only "orphan" actually born at Chimfunshi. She was the third offspring of Maggie, a 15-year old female whose first two infants died shortly after birth, and careful attention was paid to Maggie’s treatment of this baby. Sure enough, Maggie showed little natural ability as a mother, slinging the infant carelessly about her cage and even attempting to "bury" it under straw. But when she was observed threading the infant through the steels bars of her night cage -- then ripping it hastily back through -- the decision was taken to hand-rear the baby instead. Having survived such a traumatic start, "Miracle" was considered an appropriate name.

Bili is named after the heavily forested northern Congo region of Bili, where he was confiscated from illegal traders in village camps along with a male, Hans, and a female, Karla. Bili was the oldest of the group and arrived in the best shape, and has shown a physical, leadership style that indicates he might one day be a dominant male.

Karla was confiscated from illegal traders in a village camp in the Bili region of the Democratic Republic of Congo and transferred to Chimfunshi along with two males, Bili and Hans. She was the youngest and most frail of the group upon arrival, and there were fears she might not survive. Karla is named after conservation activist Karl Ammann, who helped arrange her transfer.

Hans came to Chimfunshi along with Bili and Karla after being confiscated from illegal traders in a village camp in the Bili region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although in fair condition when he arrived, Hans had a severely damaged left eye that was probably damaged during his capture, and he no longer can use it to see. But he has adapted to his handicap well and is an energetic young chimpanzee.

Cindy was approximately eight months old when she was bought along with another infant chimpanzee by a Belgian expatriate in Cote d'Ivoire. But when the Belgian fell ill with malaria and was hospitalized, Cindy's companion died and she was left in the cage for three days with a dead body, no food and no water. Luckily, she was accepted into a private home in Cote d'Ivoire and was able to regain her strength before being transferred to Chimfunshi along with Alice.