The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary
A Canadian Story of Resilience and Recovery
|
On Sale:
|
25/04/2011
|
|
Formats:
Hardback | E-Book
|
|
|
|
|
In 1997 Gloria Grow started a sanctuary for chimps retired from biomedical research on her farm outside Montreal. For the indomitable Gloria, caring for thirteen great apes is like presiding over a maximum security prison, a Zen sanctuary and an old folks’ home all rolled into one. But she is first and foremost creating a refuge for her troubled charges -- a place where they can recover and begin to trust humans again. Hoping to win some of this trust, journalist Andrew Westoll spent months at Fauna Sanctuary as a volunteer, and in this book he vividly recounts his time in the chimp house and the histories of its residents. He arrives with dreams of striking up an immediate friendship with the legendary Tom, the wise face of The Great Ape Protection Act, but Tom seems all too content to ignore him. Gradually, though, old man Tommie and the rest of the “troop” begin to warm towards Westoll as he learns the routines of life at the farm and realizes just how far the chimps have come. Brimming with empathy and winning stories of Gloria and her charges, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary is an absorbing, big-hearted book that grapples with questions of just what we owe to the animals who are our nearest genetic relations.
|
|
|
Author Extras
|
|
|
|
Critical Praise for
The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary
“This book will make you think deeply about our relationship with great apes. It amazed me to discover the behaviors and feelings of the chimpanzees.” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation
—
“The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary is an unflinching, visceral look at the emotional and physical damage—actual, real damage done to specific, individual apes—in some of America's most notorious biomedical research labs. It is also the story of humans who were driven to provide them with refuge, retirement, and things that should be basic but aren't (things as basic as choice about food and friends), and, ultimately, their inherent right to dignity.” —Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants and Ape House
—
“The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary is a true story of endurance and resilience, compassion, dedication and love. I knew the prison-like conditions of the medical research facility from which Gloria [Grow] rescued these chimpanzees; when I visited them at their new sanctuary I was moved to tears. Finally they had reached a secure haven where, gradually, they could recover from their years of torment. Andrew Westoll is a born story teller: The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, written with empathy and skill, tenderness and humour, involves us in a world few understand. And leaves us marvelling at the ways in which chimpanzees are so like us, and why they deserve our help and are entitled to our respect.” —Jane Goodall
—
“This book is a wonder. Passionate, intelligent, moving and, above all, tremendously important, it illustrates the triumph of the wild spirit and offers surprising hope that the human animal might yet be redeemed. Think of Peter Singer's Animal Liberation and J.M. Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals and you’ll have some idea of what it is you hold in your hands. It has been a long time since any author has inspired me to such extremes of compassion and humility.” —Barbara Gowdy
—
|
The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary
In 1997 Gloria Grow started a sanctuary for chimps retired from biomedical research on her farm outside Montreal. For the indomitable Gloria, caring for thirteen great apes is like presiding over a maximum security prison, a Zen sanctuary and an old folks’ home all rolled into one. But she...
|
|
The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary
Andrew Westoll spent months at Fauna Sanctuary, a refuge for thirteen chimps rescued from a research lab, as a volunteer caregiver. In The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary , Westoll vividly recounts his adventures in the chimp house and the heart-wrenching histories of its residents. He arrives with...
|
|
|
YOU ARE WATCHING: Playtime Related Link
Related videos · Playtime
· Mealtime
· The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary
|