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Rating: 
Summary: A Life With Chimpanzees!
Review: An exhilarating-even heroic-life caring for orphaned chimpanzees (and antelopes, monkeys, parrots, whathaveyou, even a hippo) on a farm in Africa, by Siddle, the caregiver herself. October 18, 1983: "I held a dying chimpanzee in my arms that day and it changed my life forever." So started the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage on Siddle's farm in central Zambia. There, she and her husband and a slowly gathering company of helpers have sought to rehabilitate chimps and return them to the wild. It was very much a seat-of-the-pants operation, relying on instinct with their first charge ("You might say we went a bit too far and nearly humanized' him-something I am careful to avoid now"), but they were good, loving instincts. Word soon flashed through the wildlife community, and the Zambian government, which at that date was cracking down on illegal trade in endangered species, that the Siddles were taking in orphaned chimps. Then they started to appear: chimps confiscated from poachers, chimps neglected or abandoned when their entertainment quotient sagged, chimps turned out by their owners when the novelty wore off. Siddle gives many of the chimps full biographical treatment: their physical and emotional recovery chronicled, their antics retold with obvious affection. She also charts the evolution of their compound, from its original five-acre enclosures to the two 500-acre areas of today. Though the chimps are the focus of her work, the anecdotes Siddle relates cover all their creatures, from the vervet monkey that tore into her husband, to the hippo, Billy, who attended a gathering at the ranch of seminarians from the local mission: "During the scripture reading, Billy seemed content to just stand there, listening meditatively." Then Billy ate the altar cloth. If the orphanage has but a fraction the warmth and gentleness of Siddle's voice in this story, then the word sanctuary would fit well. Beautiful acts, elegantly rendered.
Rating:
Summary: A Life With Chimpanzees!
Review: In this beautiful memoir, Sheila Siddle takes readers on magical journey--to Chimfunshi, a wildlife sanctuary Sheila and Dave Siddle founded in Zambia in 1983. Siddle's honest account of their work on behalf of chimpanzees will make you laugh out loud at the wonder and joy of working with wildlife. Siddle's prose also brings the battle for chimpanzees, which is far from won, into vivid and tragic relief. Filled with both humor and profound courage, this book is an inspiring must read for anyone who loves chimpanzees and all wildlife. You can learn more about Chimfunshi at [the website]
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: In this beautiful memoir, Sheila Siddle takes readers on magical journey--to Chimfunshi, a wildlife sanctuary Sheila and Dave Siddle founded in Zambia in 1983. Siddle's honest account of their work on behalf of chimpanzees will make you laugh out loud at the wonder and joy of working with wildlife. Siddle's prose also brings the battle for chimpanzees, which is far from won, into vivid and tragic relief. Filled with both humor and profound courage, this book is an inspiring must read for anyone who loves chimpanzees and all wildlife. You can learn more about Chimfunshi at [the website]
Rating:
Summary: Heart-Warming, Inspiring, and Compassionate
Review: Sheila Siddle and her husband, David, are an amazing couple. They show that life is not over when you are at a "retirement" age. They created a whole chimpanzee sanctuary at such an age. Love, compassion, determination, and strong opinions of what is right and wrong all allowed the Siddles to reach out to animals in desperate need. In doing this, they also touch everyone with whom they come in to contact. Mrs. Siddle's book allows them to touch a great deal more of us. Thank you for all of your efforts and for this great book Mrs. Siddle!!
Rating:
Summary: Heart-Warming, Inspiring, and Compassionate
Review: Sheila Siddle and her husband, David, are an amazing couple. They show that life is not over when you are at a "retirement" age. They created a whole chimpanzee sanctuary at such an age. Love, compassion, determination, and strong opinions of what is right and wrong all allowed the Siddles to reach out to animals in desperate need. In doing this, they also touch everyone with whom they come in to contact. Mrs. Siddle's book allows them to touch a great deal more of us. Thank you for all of your efforts and for this great book Mrs. Siddle!!
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