|
Siddle and his wife, Sheila, accepted a badly injured chimpanzee from a game ranger in 1983 and nursed it back to health. Today, 112 chimpanzees reside at Chimfunshi, making it one of the largest primate sanctuaries in the world.
Siddle was a successful contractor and cattle rancher approaching retirement age when he and his wife began caring for chimpanzees on their farm along the Kafue River in central Zambia. Although neither had any formal training, they pioneered many of the modern techniques and methods used in sanctuaries around the world and created a model that has been replicated across Africa.
It was David Siddle who designed all of the enclosures and facilities at Chimfunshi, including the original 7-acre enclosure that came to be known as “The Great Wall of Zambia.”
Over the past 23 years, Siddle and his wife battled poachers, civil wars, economic strife, political instability, and corruption to give their chimpanzees the best care possible. They pioneered the use of spacious, free-range enclosures, and successfully established ad-hoc family groups comprised of chimpanzees that had been through terrible physical and psychological traumas.
The Siddles were awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001 for their commitment to wildlife, and were named to Global 500 Roll of Honour by the United Nations Environment Programmae (UNEP) in 2000. They have received numerous other awards and honors. Their story is told in Sheila Siddle’s autobiography, In My Family Tree: A Life with Chimpanzees.
For more information, please contact ChimfunshiUSA@aol.com.
|
