Photo and caption by Karyl Carmignani

I worked at a chimpanzee sanctuary for a summer as a surrogate mom for orphaned apes. As the chimps grew to become juveniles, they were moved to a mangrove island to get them ready for eventual re-release into the wild. We took food to the island twice a day, and some of the chimps would wade out into the water to greet us (and get first dibs on the fruit!). The younger chimps required more motherly nurturing than these guys!

Location: Project H.E.L.P. in Congo, Central Africa