The extraordinary friendship
Jan van Hooff has fond memories of Mama the chimpanzee: “A lot of people I’ve shown around, after lectures and courses, knew her. Then when we arrived at the enclosure, Mama would run to me from the farthest corners to greet me excitedly from across the canal, chimpanzee-style, with a loud panting ‘ohoh!’. In the past year it has become increasingly difficult. It took her longer and longer before stumbling to the moat. I will absolutely miss her.”
This made it all the more emotional that he was one of the last people to see her before she passed away.