Lavielle, les jeunes

We have a new neighbor this year. Lavielle (the old) was Gregoire's partner in the garden before Gregoire passed away last year at the age of 64. Although she was alone last summer she has since moved to an enclosure next to our house where, ironically, she now lives with the youngest chimpanzees at the sanctuary.


The juxtaposition just about kills me. Lavielle is like this big white horse in there, and the babies, with their infant instincts, cling to her everywhere she goes.


But for Lavielle, the gig has it perks. Infants are fed oatmeal and soy mixture daily, one of the few things in life that still gets the old girl interested.



While the babies are fed individually from bottles, lavielle receives a bucket for herself.

And while that's usually enough, its ultimately a fight for every spoonful