Our veterinary clinic is up and running - THANK YOU!

The construction of our veterinary clinic (the first wildlife clinic in Zambia) was completed in 2021. Though the clinic still needs to be equipped with furniture and medical equipment, but our head veterinarian, Thalita, our animal keepers and researchers can already work in the clinic. This is an immense improvement for the medical care of our chimpanzees and local wildlife in need.

To all those who have generously donated to the construction of the veterinary clinic over the past years, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! It's a blessing that so many people are committed to helping us! Without your financial support, such a project would not have been possible.

Our next steps are to complete the interior of three treatment rooms, a laboratory, bathroom, kitchen, office and a warehouse. Then we must finance the purchase of urgently needed medical equipment, such as an X-ray machine, heart monitor, blood pressure monitor, and infusion pumps. The costs for the interiors and the equipment amounts to approximately 35,000 euros, so continued donations for the veterinary clinic are a blessing.

Preparing for the new arrivals

As we mentioned earlier, we are preparing to take in chimpanzees from the Central African Republic and South Sudan at short notice. The rescue of these animals was organised by AFRICAN APES. The process of transferring the animals to Zambia is, as always in such cases, an extremely delicate matter that requires extensive logistical preparations, permits and licenses. Added to this are the difficulties caused by the pandemic and unstable political conditions. On Chimfunshi itself, we are also facing another challenge:

Before the new chimpanzees are integrated into one of the chimpanzee groups, they will be thoroughly screened and vaccinated and quarantine for a few weeks to ensure they do not endanger our resident chimps with external disease. After an intense rain season with heavy storms, our quarantine station is no longer sufficient for the new arrivals, and to ensure their safety, we must refurbish the facility, at minimum.

To continue rescuing in the future, we’ll have to build a new quarantine station, but in this case, time is of the essence and we will use a mixture of solutions, including refurbishing the current facility and repurposing part of the new veterinary clinic, to complete these rescues.

Fixing the current facilities will entail dismantling the existing materials, welding metal around the structure, fabricating and fitting new sliding doors, renovating parts of the roof structure, putting concrete floor on selected sections, repairing broken tables and floors in holding cages, and plastering and painting the whole brick structure.

The resulting costs sum up to US$6,100 for materials plus US$2,800 for labour, truck hire, and fuel. Since this investment was not included in the planning for 2022, but we do not want to turn away or delay the admission of these distressed chimpanzees, we hope for your support. Every contribution helps us to rescue more animals.

What a treat!

A couple from Chicago regularly sends small gifts and treats to the chimpanzees at Chimfunshi, and each time, there are hand-picked and individually wrapped items along with notes of who it should go to. This time the parcels included gifts for enrichment activities and monogrammed blankets for Milla and our blind chimp Nicky to make their nests. The donors ensured the unpacking process was part of the enrichments too, adding hay to the boxes to soften the nests they’ll make with the blankets. It was a huge pleasure for the chimpanzees to open the packages and explore their contents. 

The idea of the gifts is to not only give a pleasure, but above all to provide mental stimulation, which animals with large brains need. Providing such enrichment activities is an important task for our keepers when it comes to improving the living conditions of our chimpanzees.

But please be aware that Chimfunshi does not allow any non-essential physical contact between humans and chimpanzees, and we vehemently advises against any trivialisation of primates or inappropriate influence on wild chimpanzees. 

​​R.I.P.

Unfortunately, joy and sorrow are often close together. It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our beloved Zsabu. Our long-time alpha chimpanzee passed away quite suddenly on March 3. Zsabu was 32 years old and acted for many years as the alpha-male of our largest chimpanzee group at Chimfunshi. Since 2013, Zsabu suffered from heart disease, which was under-treatment since 2019. Circumstances suggest that he died of sudden heart failure.

His chimpanzee group at enclosure no. 2 is doing well and is showing good cohesion. Doug, Zsabu's son, took over leadership of the group several years ago and continues to be fully accepted as alpha.

Zsabu came to Chimfunshi in 1992 at the age of two.  He had previously been smuggled illegally from Zaire to South Africa with Violet. The two arrived at Jan Smufs airport without proper papers and were immediately seized by customs officials. Upon arrival in Jan Smufs, the two were in very poor condition and were initially placed in the care of Johannesburg Zoo. Various animal welfare groups intervened with the South African authorities and it was agreed that Zsabu and Violet should come to Chimfunshi. Local South African companies sponsored their trip.

Zsabu was a central figure at Chimfunshi throughout the years, and was well liked by staff, visitors and researchers alike because of his special character and great kindness. The entire Chimfunshi family is mourning his loss.

A good (German) read!

Recently, Holger and Rolando Grumt Suárez surprised us with their new book "111 DINGE ÜBER AFFEN DIE MAN WISSEN MUSS" (111 things about monkeys you need to know) which also features Chimfunshi and includes many exciting facts about and remarkable photos of our closest relatives.

A few years ago, the brothers published a fascinating book about insects. Now, they have put together a highly entertaining and well-researched compendium on monkeys. We are thrilled! If you want to know why chimpanzees have a “monkey gap“ between their teeth, why they don't speak despite having a larynx, and which species of monkey particularly likes to pick its nose, we highly recommend this book. The information is accurate and understandable to all, and the incredibly photographs are a pleasure.  

As a bonus, with each sale of the book through Chimfunshi’s website (price-bound, VK 16,95€), the amount of 4,40€ will go as a donation to our projects.

Perhaps you know someone to who’d like this German book as a gift? Or maybe you’d like to give yourself a present! In doing so, you're also making a Chimfunshi chimpanzee happy. Recommendations to friends are also welcome!