Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee recently gave a rescue chimpanzee a personal drumming performance during a visit to a Florida sanctuary. Lee visited Save the Chimps’ 150-acre sanctuary, which provides refuge and care for chimpanzees rescued from labs, the pet trade, and the entertainment industry. He treated a chimp named Limbani to a drumming session ahead of Mötley Crüe’s show in West Palm Beach.
Save the Chimps shared details of the visit and Lee’s art collaboration with Limbani, which raised funds for the sanctuary, before Lee described his own reaction to the encounter.
“Tommy Lee drummed for Limbani. Check out his moves!” Save the Chimps wrote in the caption of Tommy Lee’s video. “Limbani and the other residents in Special Needs are becoming accustomed to living with other chimpanzees before moving to an island habitat. They enjoyed some musical enrichment from the rock icon, who visited ahead of Mötley Crüe’s show in West Palm Beach. More on Tommy’s epic visit next week! Tommy Lee’s art collaboration with Limbani raised $5,000 for Save the Chimps!”
Lee also reflected on the experience in his own words, describing the connection he felt during the session and what he took away from the visit.
“I never thought I’d play drums for a chimpanzee,” Tommy Lee said. “Limbani’s rhythmic response to my beat was captivating! I don’t know who enjoyed our session more, him or me?”
“I learned a lot from the staff and volunteers,” he continued. “To me, they are the rock stars! It’s a day I’ll NEVER EVER forget!”
The moment between Lee and Limbani struck a chord well beyond the sanctuary’s grounds, quickly turning into one of the more talked-about clips tied to the rocker’s ongoing philanthropic efforts.
Limbani, the chimpanzee at the center of the video, is nine years old. He remains part of the Special Needs group at Save the Chimps as he and his fellow residents continue adjusting to life alongside other chimpanzees ahead of an eventual move to an island habitat within the sanctuary.
The footage of Lee’s drumming session with Limbani has resonated widely online, with the video amassing more than 3.7 million views. That reach has helped shine a broader spotlight on Save the Chimps’ mission and the animals currently in its care.
Save the Chimps has positioned Lee’s visit as part of a larger story it plans to continue telling, teasing additional details about the encounter in the days following the initial video’s release. The sanctuary has used the moment to highlight both the enrichment programs available to its residents and the ongoing work of the staff and volunteers who support them daily.
For Lee, the visit appears to have left a lasting impression that extended past the drum session itself, reinforcing the admiration he expressed for the people working behind the scenes at the sanctuary.
