Face to face with our closest living relative
Face to face with our closest living relative by @DannysTravels
A few months ago I was asked to work on a project at the Chimfunshi
Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Northern Zambia on the border of the Congo.
This was a life changing opportunity to come
face to face with our closest living relative.
face to face with our closest living relative.
Chimfunshi
After a gruelling two-day bus journey right through the heart of Zimbabwe we finally reached our destination. It is a lonely place in the middle of the bush that has been poached of almost all wildlife. There is an on going battle between conserving Africa’s wildlife and extreme poverty - who could blame someone for killing an antelope to feed their family when 95% of Zambians are unemployed.
Chimfunshi sprang into existence when a badly wounded infant chimpanzee was brought to the cattle farm of David and Sheila Siddle in the 1980's. Prior to this they had been travelling through Africa and had settled in this forgotten corner of Zambia. The wounded chimpanzee was nursed back to health and a tradition of care and respect that forms the legacy of the sanctuary today was formed.
Meeting Sheila
I had the amazing opportunity to meet Sheila who is now in her 80’s. I had read her book In My Family Tree – A Life with Chimpanzees on the long journey up and I was equipped with questions. She couldn’t wait to share her fascinating stories and fond memories.
I couldn’t resist asking Sheila to sign my copy of her book – even if it was a little akward!
Picking Fruit
I was acting as a volunteer during my stay which meant some hard graft - picking fruit for the chimps’ insatiable appetites in the sweltering heat and cleaning up their feeding enclosures (which is not for the faint hearted!) It was all for a good cause and feeding them the fruits of our labours - quite literally - was incredibly rewarding.
The Future?
The Chimpanzee’s live in four huge forested enclosures, the biggest up to 500 acres. On one of the days we did a boundary patrol to check if the fencing was in need of any repairs. It took 45 minutes to walk around and we didn’t see one chimp in sight. From a selfish point of view I was very disappointed not to see them, but it was comforting to know that they were living in such a natural environment, and could remain undisturbed by humans.
With so much land encroachment and poaching I wondered whether this could be the future for Africa’s wildlife - large sanctuaries that are kept as close to their natural environment as possible, and where they can live at a safe distance from mans destruction.
Wow this article represents some unique work. It's cool what you get to see and do. I'm glad someone cares about these animals in nature.
Any suggestions for how to improve unemployment there?
Wow..... that's a tough question. I think it's important to teach the locals the value of conserving wildlife and educating them in working within and with the conservation industry rather than against it. I'm sure a number of the locals working at Chimfunshi would have inevitably been poaching if it wasn't for their employment there.
Check out some of my work :-) -
https://steemit.com/steemit/@rohantatia/some-great-pencil-sketches-by-me-its-not-a-photograph-surely-not-you-will-see
@dannystravels
As an anthropologist I am extremely envious. You are one lucky man
I'm more envious of you as an Anthropologist, the utmost respect for your job but I guess we both follow the same passion.
Check out some of my work :-) -
https://steemit.com/steemit/@rohantatia/some-great-pencil-sketches-by-me-its-not-a-photograph-surely-not-you-will-see
And here's your distant third cousin:
Those fruit look delicious! Thanks for sharing your story with us all, fascinating experience!
@dannystravels wow! beautiful place.
awesome experience.
Great pictures - one beautiful article!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for your kind words. This opportunity is available to anyone you know, why don't you get out there?
@dannystravels I did .. in a different place at a different time for a different purpose.
now living a life but I did paid my "family" a visit as well :D
they sure were a lot of fun!
Check out some of my work :-) -
https://steemit.com/steemit/@rohantatia/some-great-pencil-sketches-by-me-its-not-a-photograph-surely-not-you-will-see
OH MY GOD? just wow, very inspiring, that you care animals like them, honestly, I am afraid of them, but when I saw your image with them, I wan't to do the same and conquer my fears.
This post has been linked to from another place on Steem.
About linkback bot
Please upvote if you like the bot and want to support its development.
Amazing :) Looking forward to part 2!
I'm so glad you posted this well written story. It brings to light an issue that not many people think about. My recent transition to veganism has showed me that there is more to life. We need to preserve our world and everything in it. Look forward to the next part.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It helps us feel like we are there with you. I look forward to part 2. J.