Chimfunshi
Encyclopedia
Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage is a world renowned orphanage
and sanctuary
for Chimpanzee
s, the only one of its kind in the world, located in Zambia
's Copperbelt Province
. The sanctuary was started by David and Sheila Siddle in 1983, when a badly wounded Chimpanzee was brought to the farm, having been rescued from poachers in DR Congo. The Chimpanzee wasn't expected to survive but the pair nursed it back to health. Since then the orphanage has expanded to house over 100 orphaned Chimpanzees in 1,150 acres (4.7 km²) of forest savanna
and fruit grove
s.
The orphanage is now home to numerous other types of animals including peacocks, which roam freely around most of the grounds, an assortment of birds, many of which were brought there to be reared back to health, and a hippopotomus, which was brought there as a baby and now has little trouble getting through the electric fences.
The female hippo, named Billy by the Siddles, can be seen in a pond constructed for her.
Located 60 km west of Chingola
on the banks of the Kafue River
, the orphanage is a tourist attraction for those living in the Copperbelt towns and for international visitors to Zambia. Chimpanzees are not found in the wild in Zambia, the nearest populations are about 500 km north of Chimfunshi, but wildlife smuggling routes out of the Congo pass through Zambia.
In 2002, Sheila Siddle published her autobiography, In My Family Tree: A Life With Chimpanzees to widespread acclaim. The Siddles were awarded the Jane Goodall Award for establishing Chimfunshi.
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
and sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
for Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s, the only one of its kind in the world, located in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
's Copperbelt Province
Copperbelt Province
Copperbelt Province in Zambia covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the immediate post-independence period, but its economic importance was severely...
. The sanctuary was started by David and Sheila Siddle in 1983, when a badly wounded Chimpanzee was brought to the farm, having been rescued from poachers in DR Congo. The Chimpanzee wasn't expected to survive but the pair nursed it back to health. Since then the orphanage has expanded to house over 100 orphaned Chimpanzees in 1,150 acres (4.7 km²) of forest savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
and fruit grove
Grove (nature)
A grove is a small group of trees with minimal or no undergrowth, such as a sequoia grove, or a small orchard planted for the cultivation of fruits or nuts...
s.
The orphanage is now home to numerous other types of animals including peacocks, which roam freely around most of the grounds, an assortment of birds, many of which were brought there to be reared back to health, and a hippopotomus, which was brought there as a baby and now has little trouble getting through the electric fences.
The female hippo, named Billy by the Siddles, can be seen in a pond constructed for her.
Located 60 km west of Chingola
Chingola
Chingola is a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper-mining region, with a population of 157,340 . It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequently led to the development of two open pit operations, Chingola...
on the banks of the Kafue River
Kafue River
The Kafue River sustains one of the world's great wildlife environments. It is a major tributary of the Zambezi, and of Zambia's principal rivers, it is the most central and the most urban, and the longest and largest lying wholly within Zambia....
, the orphanage is a tourist attraction for those living in the Copperbelt towns and for international visitors to Zambia. Chimpanzees are not found in the wild in Zambia, the nearest populations are about 500 km north of Chimfunshi, but wildlife smuggling routes out of the Congo pass through Zambia.
In 2002, Sheila Siddle published her autobiography, In My Family Tree: A Life With Chimpanzees to widespread acclaim. The Siddles were awarded the Jane Goodall Award for establishing Chimfunshi.