Tacugama Chimpanzee

Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary is located close to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, in the Western Area Peninsula National Park. This beautiful rainforest also protects the capital's primary watershed. The sanctuary covers 100 acres of the 17,688 hectare national park. Tacugama was established in 1995 to enforce the law and rehabilitate confiscated, orphaned and abandoned chimpanzees with the aim to release back them into their natural habitat. Although it is illegal to hunt, capture, kill trade or own chimpanzees in Sierra Leone, sadly such practices still continue. The sanctuary now cares for about 75 chimpanzees in several forested enclosures. We are focused on the protection and conservation of chimpanzees and their habitat through education programmes, community sensitisation, field research and legal enforcement.