In My Family Tree: A Life with Chimpanzees [Hardcover]

Sheila Siddle (Author), Doug Cress (Author), Jane Goodall (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

Sheila Siddle's life was changed forever one fateful day in 1983 when a local game ranger brought a battered, malnourished chimpanzee to the door of her cattle ranch in central Zambia and asked her to do whatever possible to save it. As Sheila and her husband nursed it back to health, they treated the young chimp they would name Pal as if he were a human infant -- feeding him medicine and bottled milk, sharing their bed with him at night, and carrying him on their backs until he regained the strength to survive on his own. From these humble beginnings Sheila and David Siddle would go on to launch the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, an internationally acclaimed animal refuge that has grown to become the home for more than eighty chimps, one disarmingly domesticated hippopotamus named Billy, and a variety of other endangered animals. Currently the largest primate sanctuary in the world, Chimfunshi has been honored by the United Nations Environmental Programme as one of the Global 500 and called by Jane Goodall "the most wonderful place on earth." In My Family Tree is the uplifting story behind one woman's transformation from a grandmother on the brink of retirement to an international animal-rights activist -- and the unforgettable chimpanzees she has come to know and love along the way.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Siddle and her husband, David, never expected the farm they bought in Zambia would become the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage, the largest primate sanctuary in the world. It all began the day a game ranger brought Pal, a wounded chimpanzee, to them. Siddle nursed Pal back to health, and as Zambian laws were passed making it illegal for chimpanzees to be privately owned, more chimpanzees followed. Siddle shares the stories of some of the individual chimps: Rita, who arrives with emotional scars but ends up as a mother figure to many of the other chimps; Sandy, whose antics are both irritating and frustrating; and Milla, a much older chimp who is barely familiar with her own kind. Siddle even adopts a baby hippopotamus, Billy, who believes her home is in the Siddles' house! Siddle and her husband face very real problems as well--overcrowding, many chimpanzee escape attempts, and chimp attacks, one of which is near-fatal. Always engrossing, Siddle's memoir gives the reader a real feeling for the complex chimps that populate Chimfunshi. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 284 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802117139
• ISBN-13: 978-0802117137
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,390,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, March 31, 2002

By 

H. Walker (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In My Family Tree: A Life with Chimpanzees (Hardcover)

In this beautiful memoir, Sheila Siddle takes readers on magical journey--to Chimfunshi, a wildlife sanctuary Sheila and Dave Siddle founded in Zambia in 1983. Siddle's honest account of their work on behalf of chimpanzees will make you laugh out loud at the wonder and joy of working with wildlife. Siddle's prose also brings the battle for chimpanzees, which is far from won, into vivid and tragic relief. Filled with both humor and profound courage, this book is an inspiring must read for anyone who loves chimpanzees and all wildlife.

You can learn more about Chimfunshi at [the website]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heart-Warming, Inspiring, and Compassionate, December 28, 2002

By 

Jason J. Green "Protectanimals" (Fredericksburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In My Family Tree: A Life with Chimpanzees (Hardcover)

Sheila Siddle and her husband, David, are an amazing couple. They show that life is not over when you are at a "retirement" age. They created a whole chimpanzee sanctuary at such an age. Love, compassion, determination, and strong opinions of what is right and wrong all allowed the Siddles to reach out to animals in desperate need. In doing this, they also touch everyone with whom they come in to contact. Mrs. Siddle's book allows them to touch a great deal more of us. Thank you for all of your efforts and for this great book Mrs. Siddle!!