In case you haven’t already heard, today is World Chimpanzee Day!
Here are the Goals of World Chimpanzee Day, straight from the official website:
- Celebrate our closest living relative in the animal kingdom.
- Improve understanding by educating global audiences about their uniqueness and innate value as a species, as well as their importance to ecosystems.
- Raise awareness and inspire action about threats they face in the wild including habitat loss, disease, and wildlife trafficking, while also advocating for their welfare in captive situations.
On this World Chimpanzee Day, we also remember one of the day’s founders and dedicated chimpanzee advocate, Steve Ross. Earlier this year Diana wrote this touching blog in his memory.
At the sanctuary, we celebrated the big day with our chimpanzee friends by setting out multiple forages of freshly picked roses. Kelsi grabbed this heart warming video of Terry’s official flower inspection. Eventually, the roses ended up as a snack for him too ☺️
Glad he finally figured out that he can eat them!
Terry is like Ferdinand….he likes to smell the flowers. ….and he’s a lover, not a fighter!
Happy WC Day, everyone!
Thanks, Anna!
I’m really struck with how gently both Jamie and Terry were treating their delicate roses, Jamie w/ her gentle pulling with her lips and Terry with his soft touches as he separated the petals and inspected the flower. Given that they’re both strong personalities I was especially enamored with their gentleness. Glad Terry eventually got to enjoy the rewards of eating the petals as well as a nice grooming session! I re-read Diana’s tribute to Steve Ross and am both honored and grateful to be part of this global community of chimpanzee lovers and supporters.
When that gate opens for the first time into the new outdoors, the newbees will start to reach new heights…..including those beautiful roses in the “Grand Opening” would seem most appropriate……….:slight_smile:
World Chimpanzee Day is the anniversary of Dr. Jane Goodall’s arrival in Gombe, Tanzania, in 1960 to study chimpanzees.
For Terry’s benefit, in the future would you please wash the roses before serving them. 🙂 I celebrate Terry’s individuality! What a dear chap.
I really enjoy celebrations where you serve fresh flowers. Simply wonderful to see the way everyone approaches the special delicacy. The roses were a perfect way to celebrate our closest living relative in the animal kingdom.
I am so glad that I live in a world with people like Jamie and Terry, and with people like Flo and David Greybeard whom Jane Goodall would have the privilege of meeting during her sojourn which began 62 years ago today. On the World Chimpanzee Day, I am grateful for the vision and mission of Dr. Goodall and her colleague, Dr. Steve Ross, both of whom are (or were) not only scientists but advocates for those whom they study.
All of us who comment on this blog post and support the CSNW are immensely grateful for the vision and mission of Jane Goodall and Steve Ross. Both of them are (and were) both scientists as well as advocates. On this World Chimpanzee Day we honor them and all humans who are involved in the arduous work of reversing the endangered status of our Great Ape cousins. I cannot imagine living on a planet without people like Jamie and Terry, or Flo and David Greybeard who Dr. Goodall met in Gombe.