Chimfunshi is one of the oldest chimpanzee sanctuaries of the world and one of the biggest, with 126 chimpanzees, founded and managed by family Siddle. The founder Sheila Siddle and her husband live in Zambia, on Africa west coast, since their youth. Her husband passed away recently.
 
Sandy, a female chimpanzee, is well known at the sanctuary, for she was one of the first to arrive. This was in 1986, when she was still a baby and had been confiscated from animal poachers. Sandy has a history of run away and of breaking all the security barriers, specially the electric fences, which are very much used in the sanctuary to demarcate the enclosures. She does not get along well with other chimpanzees, according to Sheila Siddle, maybe because of an incident that occurred in 1990, when Sandy was attacked by an alligator near Kafue river. When she was begging for help she was also attacked by other chimpanzees.

Considering this characteristic of Sandy’s, it has been built an enclosure all formed by grates with 216 cubic meters and two bedrooms. She is already living in it, as it can be seen at the photo. Other two runaways, Cleo, other female who is 26 years old, and Chrissy, her two-year old daughter, are also living with Sandy in the new enclosure.
 
This construction had been made 100% by the team of the sanctuary. But they had the financial support of people and institutions, as Arcus Foundation, Disney Conservation Fund, Sweden Chimpanzees Fund, PASA and private donors.
 
Dr. Pedro A Ynterian
President, GAP Project International