Cindy the baboon

[Pearlyjam]

For anyone who's been following Cindy the baboon on Facebook, you might be aware that she sadly passed away today at the age of 31.

For those who don't know her, Cindy was an adorable, blind, elderly baboon from Namibia. She was orphaned as a baby and adopted by the Lambrecht family - the mother, Barista, raising Cindy as if she were her own child.

Barista's son Ruben, who regarded Cindy as his older sister, posted regular videos on Facebook of Cindy's life on the farm with other the rescued animals, including Warthogs Betsy, Benny and Vlakkie, Zoe the mongoose, Penny the Porcupine and various other animals including squirrels, dogs and zebras. Cindy adored her human and animal family and was like a mother to some of the smaller animals, picking them up and making funny chattering noises with her mouth. They adored her too. Watching the antics of Cindy and the other animals was an absolute joy.

I grew to love Cindy and I'm genuinely so upset at the news today. I just wondered whether anyone else been following her and if so how you are feeling about the news of her passing away? I feel a bit silly for getting so upset about an animal I never met but there was something so special about her and I really took her to my heart.

I’m sorry to hear about her passing. I didn’t follow her but I was aware of her story. There is nothing silly about caring for the animals of the world. Yesterday I wished Happy Birthday to a young cat in Denmark! 🌷

It's sad, isn't it? I started following Cindy about three years ago and I felt my day wasn't complete without a Cindy check in. I mean, she was 31, but still. I am sorry for the family.

I follow her and was so sad to read that she’d died. I loved seeing her with Ruben, his Mum and the other animals.

Thank you for your replies. I used to watch her several times a day too and will really miss her. Reading the Facebook comments - she touched so many people. I really feel for her family right now, I hope they're ok. They were blessed to have her for so long but they've lost a much loved family member.

We follow them. All our family adore Cindy and the meerkats.

Cindy won't have to share her snacks anymore. ❤️

Cindy did love her happies! I used to love her grunting noises and the way her face lit up whenever Ruben said 'happie'.

I didn’t, but I did follow Tugger the lab until his owner died very suddenly. It was awful reading the update from the grandma- hit quite hard considering I didn’t know them.

@Glitchymn1 oh that's so sad - how awful. You get invested don't you. It just shows how don't have to meet someone- human or animal- to genuinely care about them.

Here are a couple of photos of Cindy. She was so lovely.

RIP Cindy ❤️
Our family followed her story and among all the misery in the world, it was charming.
And thanks to Cindy and her family who have shown her followers that Namibia is a country of beautiful animals, landscapes and people.

I didn't know about Cindy bless her, looks like she had a lovely life though.

I've been following Agnes the beaver at the Pipsqueakery who was a facebook hit too. She had probably had all her family killed and was in a terrible state. Now she hangs out on the sofa eating strawberries and is a complete diva!

www.facebook.com/reel/830655326382887

@DelinquentSnails I agree, it really lifts your spirits to watch Cindy and the other animals when there is so much negativity in the world. It was lovely to see animals treated with so much love and respect by Ruben and his family. Many baboons in Namibia are shot by farmers who view them as pests, yet Cindy's family seemed to absolutely adore her. How lucky for her that she found them.

@bemine247 thank you for the link, I had a look and the animals are adorable!