With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you the next two weeks!
Anyone who enjoyed the BBC documentary Sue Perkins and the Chimp Sanctuary no doubt remembers Pierre. He was adamant about showing the crew what a tough guy he is, and later Jill won him over with some playful flirting.
What you didn’t see in the film, though, was Pierre’s on again/off again “long distance” relationship with Angela.
Angela is the girl next door, and a sweetheart of a chimp with an endearing personality. She’s totally chunky and has almost no hair. What she does have, though, is Pierre’s heart.
Although Pierre gets along well with the ladies in his own group, he only has eyes for Angela. He shows his affection by weaving strips of blankets through the mesh for her, and like an old married couple, they sit together and watch the day go by.
These days they’re both fascinated by the construction going on at the sanctuary as Chimp Haven expands its habitats to make room to welcome more new chimps. You can often find them sitting together, keeping each other company as they watch the construction trucks drive up and down the roads at the sanctuary.