Tacugama

After 16 months of intensive fieldwork across all of Sierra Leone, the preliminary results of our national chimpanzee census project are now available.

The results are exciting and challenging as our team found that there are twice as many wild chimpanzees remaining in Sierra Leone as previous estimates from the early 1980′s had suggested.

These results offer hope for the long-term survival of the Western Chimpanzee, but also highlight the significant threats that this flagship species faces in Sierra Leone. With the country’s push to develop and eliminate poverty, habitat is being rapidly lost to logging, mining and farming, pushing chimpanzees into direct conflict with communities as they strive for survival. While the higher than expected numbers are good news, these results do not mean that chimpanzee numbers are increasing in Sierra Leone. More than 70% of people interviewed during the survey declared that they see fewer chimpanzees now than several years ago. For more information on the census see our project web page

You can download the press release made late yesterday by clicking here.  We’re pleased that the news is being picked up by local and international media including the BBC, Radio France, Voice of America and others – you can also help us to spread the news.

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We say a big thank you to all of the field researchers who worked hard in tough conditions, interviewing almost 800 communities and walking 670km of transects (and many more km in between!) to collect this crucial information for Sierra Leone.

The team (l to r)Joseph Marah, Big Yirah Koroma, Farah Kargbo, Dr Terry Brncic, Papanie Bai Sesay, Alako Kamara, Bangalie, Foray Conteh, Marah Conteh, Yirah Koroma. Not pictured Samba Jalloh and John Conteh