The adult chimps are often shot for bushmeat and as part of land clearing programs, leaving orphaned baby chimps to be sold to Sierra Leonians as pets. Of course, these pets quickly grow to 60+ kilograms and have the strength of five men.
The Tacugama sanctuary is set in the midst of pristine rainforest and provided a perfect habitat for these animals. They have access to fifty hectares of forest, and the option to return to an enclosure for food and medication.
Despite their humanoid features and cuddly appearance, these are very much wild animals. This was brought into stark focus a few years ago when a group of more than twenty escaped from the compound, attacking and murdering a taxi driver enroute down the steep access road. They had worked out that throwing a metal pole onto the electric fence would short circuit the current, allowing them to climb out of the sanctuary easily.
One of the vets and several guides gave us a fascinating insight into the complex social structures of these animals and the difficulties that they face in co-existing with their human neighbours.
