In 1990, when Vince Smith currently manager of the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund's mountain gorilla conservation program was working as a senior keeper at Chester Zoo in the English countryside, a newborn chimpanzee in his care was abandoned by her mother. Named Sophie, the infant chimp was taken home and hand-reared by Vince and his wife. Six months later another new baby arrived: Oliver, their son. A Chimp in the Family is the compelling and entertaining account of Sophie's life. Vince Smith vividly describes the parallel upbringing of Sophie and Oliver through her early years with Vince and his family, her traumatic journey back to the zoo and her unsuccessful efforts to socialize with other chimps, her repatriation to Africa and reunion with her human foster family, and her integration in a semi-wild group of chimpanzees. A book both humorous (a family outing with both babies to the local pizzeria) and ultimately heartbreaking, A Chimp in the Family provides fascinating photographs and insights into the nature of our closest-living relatives as well as the nature of human development.
- ISBN10 0786728485
- ISBN13 9780786728480
- Publish Date 21 April 2009 (first published 29 March 2004)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 15 February 2017
- Publish Country US
- Publisher INGRAM PUBLISHER SERVICES US
- Imprint Da Capo Press Inc
- Format eBook
- Pages 272
- Language English