Can palm oil plantations and great apes ever mix?Exploring the Crisis
Apes do catch Ebola – and many other infectious diseases. All great apes, including humans, are susceptible to a range of infectious viruses and bacteria. Devastating disease may spell extinction of great apes in the wild.Learn More
After rescuing an orphaned baby chimpanzee from the illegal pet trade in 1988, Bala Amarasekaran set down on a path that would come to change the face of conservation in Sierra Leone. Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary is known for its innovative outreach initiatives and capacity to change human minds and chimpanzee lives.
In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of the great apes? Yes.
I dream of the day when all these cages will be empty, there will be no more babies to hold.
When a rescued chimp or gorilla baby shows up here, its now our responsibility for the next 55 years.