Photos

Chimfunshi wildlife orphanage is primarily a home for orphaned chimpanzees. Often poachers in the DRC will kill the mothers and then try to sell their offspring. Sooner or later these chimps end up needing permanent homes where they are safe and cared for. Chimfunshi is one attempt at providing permanent homes to chimps who don't know how to live in the wild.

Most of the chimps are kept in large, 300 hectare enclosures, where they can forage through forest and scrub land. Then twice a day (I think) they are given food to supplement what they find on their own.

This little one was getting lunch while I was there. This is just one of the orphaned chimps I saw while visiting this out-of-the-way spot in Zambia. Seeing these little guys motherless is quite sad, but I left with a deep respect for all those who work and care for these animals. If you want to know more, here is the web site . They are happy to have volunteers.