The world has come to a standstill, but here at Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary we are still receiving baby orphan chimpanzees at an alarming rate. Just in the last week we rescued three new babies bringing our numbers to nearly 100 chimpanzees.
There are high chances that the virus will reach Sierra Leone at any moment with some cases confirmed in neighbouring countries. It is very challenging for the sanctuary as an institution at the forefront of its work in animal welfare and conservation to encounter this significant outbreak. We still have no fundamental understanding how the virus could affect the chimpanzees but experts are predicting it could be fatal if it reaches great apes. As such – to fully protect Tacugama workers and chimpanzees we have closed the sanctuary until further notice.
Without visitor income and rapidly increasing prices we will be faced with an extremely rough stretch! The situation will become even more challenging should the Government of Sierra Leone announce a lock-down. Tacugama has always found a way to navigate through difficult times (including Ebola), but what we are faced with is beyond difficult.
These are not normal times – we anticipate the prevailing situation to last at least three to four months and are looking for external support to help us purchase essential food and supplies for the resident chimps.
Please donate to help the chimpanzees!
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