Know I’m a bit partial but Matt Damon’s latest blockbuster #Elysium is a must see!

My favorite scene (surprise, surprise) is when the little girl (Matilda) tells Matt Damon (Max) a story about a meerkat and a hippo.  The tiny meerkat is unable to reach any food on the trees because he is too small.  The meerkat befriends a hippo and stands on its back so he can gather fruit from the trees for the two of them.  Initially, Max asks the girl, “What’s in it for the hippo?” Matilda tells him the hippo wanted a friend.  Max’s last words of the film are, “Now I understand why the hippo did it.”

If you’re a fan of #District9 by @NeilBlomkamp, go see Elysium.  Have fun!

Another wonderful addition to the Chimfunshi family--Jewel.  How cute is he!  I can tell you from experience that Sheila is a FABULOUS mom.  And, Jewel keeps her very busy.

My sister, Sylvia, couldn't wait to tell our friend, Jackie (she does my typing) that Jewel has his dad's face.  Val is Jewel's dad and Jackie's FAVORITE.  Jackie brought Val to his new home at Chimfunshi along with another chimp, named Kathy.  It's very entertaining listening to Sylvia and Jackie go at it when discussing the "best looking chimp."  Sylvia thinks it's her boy--Brian and Jackie, of course, thinks it's her darling Val.

They say, "it takes a village to raise a child" and it is no different with an infant chimp.  All "hands and paws" on deck.  As you can see, my girl, Tess, takes her babysitting duty very seriously.  Look at how attentive she is!  It's winter time in Zambia so it gets quite cold especially at night.  Jewel is very young and like a baby can catch a cold quite easily.  To avoid this, we toss on a t-shirt and wrap him in a blanket so he is nice and warm.  Hey Sylvia, thanks for sharing your photos of Jewel and Tess!

Gotta go... I'm up next for babysitting duty... 

Who doesn't love an uplifting story?  Meet Kasey, an amazing monkey who is Ned's helper and a graduate of Monkey College.  

#HappyAlert  In case you missed this wonderful story by Natalie DiBlasio in @USAToday: Monkey See Monkey Do.   And, don't miss additional behind the scenes fun and details by Natalie via Monkey College.  You are gonna fall in luv with Kasey!  
Check out: Helping Hands Monkey Helpers

Who doesn't love babies?  And, this past week was a great one for the animal kingdom.  At Chimfunshi, Kambo is relaxing high in the sky, in her favorite tree, with her son, Ken.  When they came down for a treat, Ken decided to give Jackie a scalp massage.  From the look of it, Ken doesn't seem to have a gentle touch.

Hello world!  Congratulations @SFZoo.  The San Francisco Zoo welcomed a bouncing baby gorilla on Wednesday.  Nneka and Oscar Jonsey are the proud parents of a baby girl weighing in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce.  Look at those big, brown eyes.  Could she be any cuter?  @HuffPostGreen headlined: San Francisco Zoo Baby Gorilla Might Be The Most Adorable Thing We've Ever Seen. (PHOTOS):  http://huff.to/133qhfJ

Twice the fun @ZooATL!  Not to be "out-cuted,"  Zoo Atlanta welcomed panda twins to mother Lun Lun on Monday.  Twin cubs are a first for the zoo.  The best part is you can follow the progress of the baby pandas on the zoo's panda cam.  How cool is that.  For additional details, view: http://bit.ly/14swnvv via @cnn. 

One word says it all #Malala!  She was all over the media with GOOD reason.  Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 16th birthday delivering an inspiring speech at the UN.  And, the #UN declared July 12th #MalalaDay.

Living in Africa, I'm sorry to say that education, especially for girls, is not a top priority.   So, one of my favorite quotes from Malala is: "Education First."  For additional quotes, view:  Malala's 10 most inspiring quotes from her UN speech.  

You are never to young to make a difference!  Are you making a difference?  Do you know someone who is making a difference?  Let us know by sharing their story.

Everybody loves celebrating the #4thofJuly with food, fun and fireworks!  Let's not forget about our "best friend's" contribution.

Knew my dog friends in combat did amazing work but came across these wonderful reminders that I wanted to share before our Independence Weekend ended.
-  The Dogs of War: Photos of Canines in Combat  via @Time 
-  Dogs of War: The Story of Canines in Combat  via @EnviroGraffiti

Thank you!

Doing anything cool and fun for the 4th of July?  Even though I don't live in the U.S., I have lots of friends there.  And, some of them take "red, white and blue" to the next level.  Check out more of my freedom lovin friends via @buzzfeed! 

Here at Chimfunshi, my mom and I like to do our part to celebrate #4thofJuly with our American friends by having a braai.  Braai=BBQ  Our U.S. buddies really love their hot dogs.  We learned via #RachaelRay that July is National Hot Dog Month.  Do you know how many hot dogs are eaten between Memorial Day and Labor Day?  View (video) via @RachaelRayShow  to find out!  The number is unbelievable...  My mom also learned some new and yummy ways to grill'em via Rachael's video.  Who knew there was a Taco Dog!  Let me know what your favorite toppings are.

Happy Fourth of July!

You can never have too many friends!  The fun part is you never know who you'll become friends with or where you'll meet your next friend--around the corner, at school, in the pool, via a friend--you never know.  I came to Chimfunshi as a scared, baby hippo and now I'm the "Queen of Chimfunshi" with endless friends--from chimps to chickens.

As a young teenager, I loved nothing more than milk, hanging out with my friends and playing in the pool.  So, my dream day included being in the pool--getting by milk-- followed by a little loving from my chimp and human friends.

For me Father's Day is bittersweet since my dad, Dave, passed away.  However, it's a wonderful time remember all the fun times we shared.

Dave was a great dad--fun and caring.  He tried being tough but I knew he was a softie.  He always got a kick out me running into the house and beating the dogs to the couch.  The couch was my favorite spot to hang out with the family and sleep.  

I'm very proud of my dad.  Bet you didn't know he was responsible for designing the free-range enclosures for the chimps.  Mom and Dad gave up a portion of the ranch to do this.  When Dave first designed these enclosures in 1983, it was considered revolutionary and his enclosure design was followed by many sanctuaries.  Pretty cool!  What is one of the things that make you proud of your dad--besides everything?  Let me know. 

I may not have an ocean by me in Chimfunshi, Zambia but that doesn't mean I don't love and relate to oceans and ocean animals.  Oceans are amazing--especially to someone who LOVES water. The vastness of oceans is mind-boggling and so cool.  Plus, oceans are home to so many wonderful animals.  Do you have a favorite ocean animal?  What is it?

Can you guess my favorite ocean animal?  Hint: I think it's sort of the hippo of the ocean world.  We have some things in common--quite large, look slow but we can move quickly when we want to.  For more hippo info, view Hippo Facts.

It's a manatee!  Don't they remind you of me? Yes, no?  If no, what ocean animal reminds you of a hippo?  Let me know.  To learn more about #manatees, check out: Manatees of the Caribbean hosted by Jeff Corwin via Ocean Mysteries.

To celebrate World Oceans Day, this weekend (June 8-10, 2013) Georgia Aquarium partnered with Dr. Seuss--how cool is that.  Details: http://bit.ly/195Rm9p  Have fun!