Tacugama

As well as caring for confiscated chimps at the sanctuary, Tacugama also works to protect wild chimpanzees and their habitats in Sierra Leone.

The Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census (SLNCCP) completed by Tacugama in 2010 showed that over half of the wild chimpanzees in Sierra Leone are living outside of protected areas. In many of these areas the natural forest habitat is being lost as a result of activities such as logging, agriculture & mining bringing chimpanzees closer to human settlements. Wild chimps are trying to adapt to survive in these changing environments but this can bring problems when they raid farm crops to replace forest foods that are no longer available. Human-wildlife conflict is an increasing problem and in late 2011 Tacugama started pilot projects in some affected communities.  These projects are working with the communities to provide alternative livelihoods and create guardianship for the wild chimpanzees still living in the area.

We have recently started a research project to study the wild chimps in two of these communities.

A villager points out which animals she has observed in the area.

The project, led by Rosa Garriga, is being implemented in the Moyamba district and consists of two parts: community interviews and a camera trap study. The interviews aim to gain more information about crop losses due to animals and the role chimpanzees play in these losses.  They also help the research team to determine the areas where wild chimpanzees are active and so where camera traps should be set.

Konkofa Marah and Yirah Koroma preparing the camera trap.

The first field trip in December involved 50 interviews in 10 villages and placing 16 camera traps. These are remotely activated cameras that are equipped with motion sensors and take pictures only if something is moving past. The analysis of the interviews and the photos captured will be shared with the communities to help with generating ideas as to how human-chimpanzee / human-wildlife conflict can be resolved.

The team had to cross some difficult terrain to get to the research site!

The team are now back in Moyamba to undertake further interviews and reposition the cameras. Hopefully we’ll have captured some interesting photos that we’ll be able to share with you in future blogs. We are grateful for the support that we’ve received for developing and analysing the questionnaires from Tatyana Humle and the Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent in the UK. This important project has been made possible thanks to grants from Barcelona Zoo, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund and Lush Cosmetics.

The view after a hard day’s work.

This week witnessed a proud occasion for Tacugama as we were able to present the full report for the Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census Project to key national stakeholders at a workshop held on 15 and 16 September.  The workshop ensured that the survey findings were disseminated to an important audience including representatives from government, conservation organisations and educational institutes.

The formal opening of the workshop

The workshop was chaired by Professor Karim, head of biological sciences at Fourah Bay College (Sierra Leone and West Africa’s oldest university); opening statements came from the Sierra Leone Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Local Government and Rural Development with a key note address from the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security.  As well as a detailed presentation of the survey results, the attendees were presented with case studies on community co-management of forests, offset conservation for the Loma Mountains in Sierra Leone and how the conservation of gorillas in Rwanda is being supported through eco-tourism.  There were many questions and lively discussions as the information was shared.

Bala responds to questions raised

The second day saw participants really taking ownership of the threat to chimpanzees in Sierra Leone and it was an important milestone in the history of their protection when the workshop overwhelmingly supported the proposal that chimpanzees should become a national emblem for Sierra Leone. We will now pursue the delivery of a presidential declaration to confirm this crucial proposal which should significantly increase the conservation profile for the species.

Working groups then formed to tackle objectives and identify actions in the areas of legal frameworks, community engagement, education, research & awareness, national & international engagement & collaboration, and value creation.

One of the breakout groups tackles national and international collaboration…

… and another, community engagement

We were extremely impressed at the energy, thought and commitment that over 40 people expressed during the two days.  The workshop has really demonstrated that the completion of the census has kick-started the next phase for Tacugama’s work in conserving chimpanzees in Sierra Leone.  The actions identified through the sessions will not be easy to accomplish but the journey has started and with the support we have gained through the workshop will certainly keep us motivated on the way.

Presenting the outputs from the education and research group …

… and from the value creation team (looking at how chimpanzee conservation can be funded)

We are extremely grateful to all of the participants and especially the Forestry Division and our workshop facilitator Eugene Cole for making the workshop so productive and marking an important step forward for the protection of chimpanzees.

The full survey report will be available to download from our website before the end of September, together with the workshop output.  We are very hopeful that we will be able to follow up the action planning process by hosting a chimpanzee population habitat and viability assessment workshop in Sierra Leone early in 2011.  With the support of international conservation organisations this should result in a robust conservation action plan that will strengthen the chances for wild chimpanzee survival in Sierra Leone.

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
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Dr Terry Brncic reports back from her team’s most recent census visit to the Outamba Kilimi National Park (OKNP) in the north of Sierra Leone on behalf of Tacugama:

Outamba Kilimi National Park is currently the only national park in Sierra Leone. Located in the far north of Sierra Leone on the border with Guinea, it is divided into the larger Outamba section in the east and Kilimi section in the west of northern Bombali district. The terrain is relatively flat with low rolling hills and plateaus offering excellent views across the spectacular landscape.

Thin strips of darker riverine forest running through the woodland savanna, and some of the spectacular hills across OKNP
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Dr Terry Brncic reports back from her team’s most recent census visit to the Outamba Kilimi National Park (OKNP) in the north of Sierra Leone on behalf of Tacugama:

Outamba Kilimi National Park is currently the only national park in Sierra Leone. Located in the far north of Sierra Leone on the border with Guinea, it is divided into the larger Outamba section in the east and Kilimi section in the west of northern Bombali district. The terrain is relatively flat with low rolling hills and plateaus offering excellent views across the spectacular landscape.

Thin strips of darker riverine forest running through the woodland savanna, and some of the spectacular hills across OKNP
.

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The Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census Project team has just returned from an intensive 26 days of surveying Moyamba District in the south west of Sierra Leone. This district is close to Freetown, with many villages throughout that depend on slash and burn subsistance farming for survival. There is very little standing forest remaining. Dr Terry Brncic, the Scientific Project Manager gives her report:

We travelled over 1125 miles in search of wild chimpanzees… usually in first or second gear due to the road conditions!

Another makeshift bridge safely crossed…
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The Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census Project team has just returned from an intensive 26 days of surveying Moyamba District in the south west of Sierra Leone. This district is close to Freetown, with many villages throughout that depend on slash and burn subsistance farming for survival. There is very little standing forest remaining. Dr Terry Brncic, the Scientific Project Manager gives her report:

We travelled over 1125 miles in search of wild chimpanzees… usually in first or second gear due to the road conditions!

Another makeshift bridge safely crossed…
.

Read More »

There is no accurate understanding of current wild chimpanzee numbers in Sierra Leone. What we know is that the forest cover today is only 5% of what it was 100 years ago and that human encroachment of key habitat areas continues at an alarming rate.

Timber collection close to the entrance road for Outamba Kilimi National Park
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