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History of Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage |
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The Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in central Zambia is a non-profit
refuge that cares for a wide variety of sick, wounded or unwanted
animals -- but the primary residents are over 100 orphaned chimpanzees.
Chimfunshi was founded in 1983 when a game ranger brought a
badly wounded infant chimpanzee to the cattle ranch of David and Sheila
Siddle, a British couple who had lived in along the Zambian copperbelt
since the 1950s. The Siddles nursed that chimp – nicknamed "Pal" – back
to health, thereby establishing a tradition of care and respect that
forms the legacy of the sanctuary.
Once word of Pal’s recovery spread, the Siddles found
themselves inundated with orphaned chimpanzees. Although many are
confiscated from poachers who attempt to smuggle the infants into Zambia
for sale as pets, an equally large number are rescued from dilapidated
zoos and circuses from all over Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
The Siddles bestow love and care upon the traumatized apes
and gradually introduce them to the extended family at Chimfunshi. Five
social groups inhabit the free-range enclosures that span 1,100 acres at
the orphanage, including two 500-acre enclosures, the largest area ever
set aside for captive primates. A third 500-acre enclosure will be
opened in late 2003.
The Siddles’ work has won them a steady stream of honors and
awards, including the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global 500
Award (2000), the Audi / Terra Nova nomination (2001), a special
commendation from the Nedbank / mail & Guardian Green Trust Awards
(2000), and the Jane Goodall Award (995). In 2001, the Siddles were
granted MBEs by Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Source:
foremr
official site of
Chimfunshi
Wildlife Orphanage (2009)
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