Eco Lodge Stay and Sanctuary Tour at Tacugama - Sierra Leone’s Chimpanzee Sanctuary
Originally posted December 11, 2020
Picture This:
You’re swinging in a hammock… in a treehouse… in the middle of a forest in Sierra Leone. The only thing you hear is the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees, the buzz of insects, chirps of birds… and the occasional hoots of chimpanzees in the distance.
It’s an unlikely scenario… but it is the exact situation I found myself in at Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary - a tranquil forest retreat in the Western Area Peninsula National Park, just thirty minutes outside of Freetown.
I felt a bit like Jane Goodall… an icon in conservation who, believe it or not, has visited the sanctuary a few times… so it was at the top of our “must see in our minimal free time while in Sierra Leone” list.
A visit to Tacugama won’t be the “up close and personal” wild animal experience you might be anticipating, (unless you’re Jane Goodall)… but, if it were, it wouldn’t truly be a sanctuary with the chimps’ best interest at heart.
Interested in visiting or donating to Tacugama?
Keep reading to learn more about our sanctuary tour, ecolodge stay, and how you can contribute to Tacugama’s rehabilitation and advocacy programs!
Tacugama History
Tacugama was established in 1995 in cooperation with the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone.
Despite being founded in the midst of a civil war, and literally being caught in the middle of a clash between opposition forces in 1997, Tacugama endured and has continued to fight for conservation and the protection of chimpanzees.
In the year 2000, the first large fenced enclosures were built, and, for the next five years, steady expansion lead to new chimp enclosures and even staff quarters.
“Our primary objective is to enforce the wildlife laws of Sierra Leone and provide a safe and natural haven for rescued chimpanzees.”
In 2020, Tacugama celebrated its 25th anniversary, and so did its oldest staff member.
THIS IS WILLY.
Willy has been working at the sanctuary since its establishment, and has seen Tacugama’s evolution first hand throughout the years.
Willy gave us a tour of the sanctuary grounds and shared his insight and experience with us.
He knew all of the chimps by name and was well versed in their calls and facial expressions. He mimicked their hoots with amazing accuracy and, surprisingly, that’s not the only animal call he can imitate. Willy is also an expert when it comes to other plants and animals in the area, and leads bird watching excursions around the park.
I was so inspired and impressed by, not only his knowledge of the chimps, but also his dedication to protecting this species and all other animals who call Sierra Leone home.
Chimpanzee Endangerment
Chimpanzees are one of our closest living relatives sharing about 98% of human’s genetic DNA, but, unlike humans, chimpanzees are a critically endangered species. The biggest threats to chimpanzee populations are habitat loss and fragmentation, killing for bushmeat, the infant pet trade, and disease.
It is estimated that if the population decline continues at its current rate, 99% of remaining Western chimpanzees will be lost by 2060.
Tacugama is working to stop this before it is too late.
Currently, the sanctuary is home to about 100 chimpanzees, many of whom were rescued as orphans.
The story is often the same.
The mother's are killed by poachers for bush meat, and the vulnerable baby chimp’s end up being traded as pets. Thanks to outreach initiatives with communities and schools, many of these instances are reported, and Tacugama is able to rescue the orphaned chimps.
But the rescue is just the beginning.
Once a chimpanzee arrives at Tacugama it goes through several rehabilitation stages. Many of the young chimps have suffered mental trauma, abuse, and may be disabled or severely malnourished.
First, they go through a quarantine process where their health is closely monitored to ensure that they have not been exposed to any diseases. In this stage, they also nursed back to health by specially trained “surrogate mothers” on staff. After the quarantine period, the chimps are slowly socialised and introduced to peer groups before being integrated into the larger enclosures.
It costs almost US$1,500 to take care of each chimpanzee at the sanctuary for a year.
This figure includes the cost of feeding them a healthy diet, ensuring they get skilled care from staff, and that their home is both safe and well maintained. It is a timely and costly process - one which would not be possible without the support of donors and the dedication of staff.
Rehabilitation + Advocacy Programs
In addition to rehabilitating and reintroducing chimpanzees into the wild, the staff at Tacugama have launched several other programs designed to stop chimpanzee endangerment at the source.
Their Tacugama Community Outreach Programme (TCOP), established in 2001, aims to conduct field research establishing data on wild chimp populations. This program encourages local communities to protect these wild chimp populations and their habitat, and to end poaching and killing for bushmeat.
Through these onsite and community outreach educational initiatives, Tacugama is working to increase environmental awareness and sensitivity around the country, and encourage reforestation within communities. Their goal is to increase appreciation for nature and wildlife while also meeting the livelihood and development needs of local communities.
They also work at the policy level by advocating for law reform protecting the chimpanzees (which, thanks to their efforts, is now Sierra Leone’s official national animal).
On-site Activities
The most popular on-site activity at Tacugama is their sanctuary tour.
On this one hour tour, a ranger will bring you around the grounds and share more about Tacugama’s history, mission, and the problems facing chimpanzees today.
Like I mentioned in the beginning, a visit to Tacugama isn’t really an “up close and personal” chimps experience, so if you’re hoping to hold a baby chimp, you’re going to be disappointed… and if you want to snap amazing up close photos, you’d better bring a zoom lens.
We caught a glimpse of a few chimps up in the trees and got to see how they react (and respond) to Willy’s very impressive calls.
In my opinion, anything else would be animal exploitation, so, the fact that Tacugama avoids this shows just how true to its mission of conservation and protection of chimpanzees they really are.
Tacugama offers other activities like bird watching tours (with Willy!) and even jungle hikes.
For each activity, you’re accompanied by a ranger who can give you more information about the area, plants and animals found here and what they are doing to stop poaching and preserve the habitat. You may even be lucky enough to spot some animals in their natural habitat… or just their tracks.
We went on a 1.5km hike to the Congo Waterfalls and dam, but if you have more time there is another longer route that leads to an ancient cave as well. We saw a MASSIVE spider (pictured below) and I walked through a bees nest… but other than that we didn’t see any other wild animals.
On the bright side, there was a heck of a view from the dam, and being out in nature was a lot of fun. In hindsight, I wish I’d soaked it all up a bit more… because for the next two weeks we’d be spending just about all of our time on the road.
Overnight EcoLodge Stay
If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Freetown a bit longer, you can stay a night in the jungle in one of their onsite forest eco lodges.
There are 6 lodges to choose from and each one has unique names in memory chimps that have lived at Tacugama: Bruno, Julie, Christo, Augusta, Mumma Lucy, and Phillip.
All proceeds from your stay go towards Tacugama’s conservation programs, and breakfast and sanctuary tours are included in the price per night - (Keep in mind that all other meals have to be preordered when making your booking).
Phillip Lodge
We stayed in the Phillip Lodge for a couple of nights - a treehouse lodge with 2 single beds, kitchen space, walkout patio (hammock!) and ensuite bathroom.
Waking up in the middle of the jungle to the sounds of the chimps was a once in a lifetime experience…. not to mention a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Freetown.
It was one of the highlights of the trip, and of the year, and I really couldn’t recommend it more!
What to Bring
Whether you’re planning to visit Tacugama for a sanctuary tour or an overnight ecolodge stay, there are a few things you’ll want to bring along:
Bug spray (because you’ll be in a forest… and massive mosquitos live here).
Comfortable shoes for walking.
Rain gear (if you visit in the rainy season).
Flashlight or headlamp (the grounds are PITCH BLACK at night, so our headlamps were essential to finding our way back to our tree house).
Snacks (adding this because of who I am as a person…but you might be able to do without).
How to Help
When we visited in early March of 2020, Tacugama, like most places in Sierra Leone (and the rest of the world) had already upped their safety measures by putting in place extra hand washing stations for guests and staff. Unfortunately, despite their proactive response, Tacugama still had to close their doors this spring in order to protect staff, visitors, and the chimpanzees.
Their tours, ecolodge stays, and volunteer placements were all cancelled, and, as you can imagine, Tacugama took a heavy hit as a result. These activities help to fund more than half of the sanctuary operations, and, for much of this year, Tacugama wasn’t receiving any income from these programs.
The world may have gone in lockdown but Tacugama’s fight for conservation didn’t stop.
Sierra Leone has since gained control of the outbreak, and Tacugama’s doors have reopened, but tourism remains low as other countries around the world continue to battle the pandemic.
Typically, you can get involved at Tacugama by volunteering long term or paying a visit to the sanctuary, and this IS a great way to give back while learning about these beautiful animals (and one of our closest relatives) in their natural habitat… but, for many, it’s not the safest option at the moment.
Instead, you can support Tacugama from a distance by virtually adopting a chimp, donating to their COVID relief fund, or purchasing a t-shirt. Every donation counts, and, if you want to make sure a visit to this bucket list destination will be a possibility in the future, donations now are crucial.
Visit Tacugama’s website for more information on how you can help their continued conservation and chimpanzee rehabilitation efforts!
Planning a trip to Sierra Leone?
