Today was sponsored by wonderful friend of the chimps and humans, Meg Lunnum! Meg graciously chooses to celebrate her birthday each year with the chimpanzees and we couldn’t be happier than to be included in celebrating a human we are so happy to know is in the world. Meg shared this message about her day:
“I like to honor all the primates at Chimpanzee Sanctuary NW on my birthday. This year I would like to include some new, casual chimpanzee friends I met at the Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee.”
Meg, many, many thanks to you for all you do not only for the Cle Elum 7, but for all animals far and wide! And thank you for sharing your new friends, Bo, Binti, Daisy, Jimbo, Debbie, George, Mwelu, and Ripley, with us! Our thoughts and hearts are with the staff, caregivers, and chimpanzee family at Knoxville Zoo over the loss of their beloved Debbie. We are honored to have a chance to learn about her and her family and to celebrate them along with you, Meg.
From all of us at CSNW, we hope you have the happiest of birthdays yet, Meg! And extra good wishes from your pals, Annie and Negra. We’re so lucky to call you our friend.
Happy Birthday and thank you Meg for introducing me to the Knoxville chimp family. After reading articles on Debbie’s passing I was deeply touched by her life. She was an amazing ambassador. What a devastating loss to everyone. I came across this lovely quote:
“Debbie taught us so many things about chimpanzees. Her legacy as an ambassador for her species lies in her own story about the illicit pet trade and the ethics of isolating chimpanzees for entertainment,” said Zoo Knoxville President and CEO Lisa New. “For me personally, Debbie was the most important and influential animal I have ever known. But Debbie was more than just a teacher. She was my friend.”
It is inexplicable how deeply chimpanzees weave their beautiful hearts into our lives. Always a joy to discover new chimps.