Have you ever been at a party when it seemed like everyone there had known everyone else for years, but they didn’t know you?
Now you know how Nigida feels. We’re slowly introducing him to Doug’s family group, but social behavior and communication that is natural to other chimpanzees doesn’t come easy for him.
Because he was separated from his mother right after birth, she never got to teach him the ways of chimps, and he never formed healthy bonds with her. He also spent years in lab isolation, so group and social behavior is hard for Nigida.
But he’s making progress! He just needs more help. We’ve set a goal of raising $35,000 on Giving Tuesday to support a year of his care, and thanks to the good folks who gave yesterday we’ve already raised $6,350 toward that goal.
Now we need to raise the rest before midnight, and you can help:
- Give $35, and you’ll see a video featuring Dr. Andrew Halloran and Care Technician Deanna Jenkins talk about Nigida’s character.
- Give $150, and you’ll see a video of Dr. Andrew Halloran and Deanna Jenkins talk more about Nigida, about the difficulty many captive chimpanzees have with communication and Nigida’s recent grooming breakthrough with Rebel and what that indicates.
- Or make a very generous $450 gift for Giving Tuesday, if that’s within your means, and you’ll see a longer video with Dr. Andrew Halloran and Deanna Jenkins talking about chimp family dynamics, what different status’ mean within a chimp family and an update on Nigida meeting Kippy and having another breakthrough.
Please support this critical work. It isn’t healthy or natural for chimpanzees to be separated from other chimps. It would mean so much if we could give Nigida a warm welcome into a forever family, and today on Giving Tuesday we’re asking for your support.
Please help. Give $35, $150, or $450 now, and you’ll unlock a video to see your support in action!