An Unexpected Find – Interning as a chimpanzee blogger

By Violet Bishop

My communications internship with Project Chimps was unexpected. It was surprising because during my internship search for the summer of 2021, I didn’t believe I would find something that combined my love of animals with the knowledge I have learned as a sociology major. The Wake Forest University Sociology Department has helped me throughout my three years to understand connections, and I wanted to connect sociology to animals. In the back of my mind, I wanted to have an experience where I could learn more about animals while also working to understand their social patterns, personalities, and day-to-day lives. But this seemed unachievable, so I focused on other options. When I came across Project Chimps, it was an unexpected find that ended up being an incredible summer. I was so excited at the possibility of doing exactly what I wanted. 

A Learning Experience 

It’s been such an incredible summer, and I have learned a lot from Ali. I’ve also learned a lot throughout the process of writing about various medical conditions. Navigating the best way to interview someone to get the correct information took a couple of tries. I found myself needing more questions or asking follow-up questions because I have never spent any time around chimpanzees. Once I got the hang of it, I looked forward to writing new blogs. And it wasn’t just because the medical conditions were interesting. Each case was an opportunity for me to peek into unique personalities, see quirks, and understand temperaments. Chimps are more alike than we realize, and I loved drawing the connection between primates and humans.

Another thing I gained from this summer was information about potential careers. I had always felt a little lost about what I want to do after college, and Project Chimps exposed me to a new field. I enjoyed the process of writing about the chimps for other people to learn. I’m excited about the fact that people I don’t know will be learning from my writing. I learned lots of new information, and I hope that others will benefit from reading the blog posts. 

Chimp Day

Although my internship ended up being remote, I visited Project Chimps for a day in August. It was a pleasure getting to meet Ali in person and getting a private tour around the habitat. It was such a different experience than being at home, and it felt amazing getting to see the sanctuary. It was so fun seeing the chimps I had been writing about all summer. 

Seeing the sanctuary also helped me understand more about what I was learning. Since I hadn’t seen the sanctuary before, terminate mounds, bedrooms, and facial expressions were hard for me to visualize. This trip felt like great closure, as I was able to see everything I was learning from the caregivers. I even got to see some chimps use sticks as tools in the termite mounds! 

This summer was an incredibly valuable experience for me. I have grown as a writer and as an animal lover. Thank you to Ali, Deanna, and all the caregivers who showed me nothing but kindness, even from hundreds of miles away!

Interested in our Intern Blog Writer program? Rolling applications are accepted for future semesters. Learn more here.