Ellie was one of the stars in the original CareerBuilder ads that created a media sensation when they were broadcast during the 2005 Superbowl. But like many chimpanzees who work in the entertainment industry, Ellie’s career was at an end when she was still only a juvenile. Though Ellie had spent years in the business of making commercials and films, by the age of seven she was becoming too large and too strong for her human trainers to handle safely.

Ellie arrived at the sanctuary in Wauchula a few months after that Superbowl in March 2005. She had been born in captivity in 1997 at a tourist attraction in Oklahoma. There Ellie was taken away at birth from her mother, spending her infancy with humans.

She is an instigator in her group of adolescent friends, Maggie, Bella, and her older twin brothers Jacob and Jonah. Ellie likes to stir things up just for fun. She is an expert sand-thrower, a dead-on spitter, and is very capable of using sticks and other tools to draw attention to herself. She loves puzzles, games, and searching for hidden treats. She’s very determined and won’t stop until she has the puzzle solved.

Ellie has a very healthy appetite, never passing up a meal and often asking her caregivers for a few extra snacks. She really likes to groom with the staff using sticks.

As one of the youngest in her group, Ellie is frequently off by herself playing with her toys while the others are resting. She shows a great deal of emotion in her face and often wiggles her ears as she thinks !