May 25th

So today had to be one of the most amazing days of my life. I got to spend the day with our closest relatives, chimpanzees. Little fin fact: Chimpanzees and humans share 98.9% of the same DNA. The chimp walk took place in the morning. The owner/ founder, a little 80 something year old lady walking with a cane, greeted us in the morning with a huge smile and led us to a small room where we put on coveralls, took off all jewelry, clips, and anything shiny, and loaded our pockets with cookies, biscuits, and peanuts. We had to quickly sign our life way stating that if the chimps were to beat us up, pulled our hair, or bit off our fingers we could not sue them. Luckily I still have all my fingers and I am only sporting the normal amount of bruises typical with being a Bendroth.

The chimp walk took about two hours. You are placed in an enclosed area, about 5 acres, with 6 chimps. You can feed them, hug them, play with them, kiss them, and tickle them. The chimps are truly like little humans with bigger mouths and longer arms. They smile, and play, and babysit; they are on birth control, they take the same antibiotics that humans do, they use tools, and they can show emotion. One of the chimps named Cindy, had a thing for ground nuts (peanuts); she would search through your pockets throwing the cookies on the ground to get to the ground nuts. When she found one she would grin and crack it open with her teeth eat the nut and throw away the shell. I discovered that if I held onto the ground nuts I could ask her for a kiss. She would stick out her lips then stick out her hand waiting for her reward. Yes I kissed a chimp ok!

The fact that these chimps are so interactive with humans is somewhat controversial but the revenue generated from the chimp walk helps keep the facility running. The rest of the chimpanzees living in Chimfunshi are considered wild since their only interaction with humans is during feeding. The place is huge! It is home to more the 150 chimpanzees. Over all wicked awesome day!