{"id":1305,"date":"2015-05-28T15:05:23","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T13:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/?p=1305"},"modified":"2018-08-22T08:07:54","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T06:07:54","slug":"the-chimps-of-tacugama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/the-chimps-of-tacugama\/","title":{"rendered":"THE CHIMPS OF TACUGAMA"},"content":{"rendered":"

On one of my trips to visit hubby in Sierra Leone we explored around the sprawling city of Freetown and heard from the locals about the chimp sanctuary high up in the hills. \u00a0My daughter was excited – she wanted to visit. \u00a0So we set out to find it. \u00a0 \u00a0The trip there in itself is quite a bit of an experience as you travel through dust trodden streets littered with old wooden houses high up on the hills. \u00a0The travel is slow going so enjoy the ride. \u00a0It is all part of the experience.<\/p>\n

\"On

On the road to Tacugama<\/p><\/div>\n

Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary is tucked away in the threatened Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserves on the edge of Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone.\u00a0 The sanctuary spans about 100 acres (+- 40 hectares) of lush indigenous rain forests.<\/p>\n

\"Arriving

Arriving at the gate of Tacugama<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1995 Bala Amarasekaran felt in his heart the desire, and had the vision, to rescue, confiscate and rehabilitate chimps of Sierra Leone that were in trouble.\u00a0 So he abandoned his original career as an accountant and started up Tacugama.\u00a0\u00a0 Today the sanctuary take care of about 90 chimps with the help of a dedicated staff as well as volunteers from all over the world.\u00a0 Much work is also done in the community through education and legal enforcement as it is illegal to hunt, capture, kill or in any way keep chimpanzees in Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n

\"Some

Some of the chimp families<\/p><\/div>\n

For the staff at the sanctuary each rescued chimp becomes like family and has a story to tell like mischievous Kouze who was owned by a Russian peacekeeping officer of the United Nations.\u00a0 He saw it fit that Kouze share his vodka and UN rations.\u00a0 With some great difficulties Kouze was eventually brought to the centre in good health (living on the UN rations).\u00a0 Through the adoption program that is run by Tacugama naughty Kouze can currently enjoy a healthy diet and more natural living conditions. \u00a0An adoption program via Tacugama’s website is available to improve conditions for Kouze and his mates. \u00a0So please visit www.tacugama.com<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about the program.<\/p>\n

\"On

On the guided tour<\/p><\/div>\n

In an ongoing research project in the area camera traps had been placed at various spots throughout the Park.\u00a0 Great was the excitement when the images were collected and a rare tree pangolin was spotted.\u00a0 Sadly it \u00a0carries the status of \u201cvulnerable\u201d on the data species list due to bushmeat hunting and the demand on international markets.\u00a0 I hope this special guy will not run into that kind of trouble!<\/p>\n

\"The

The rare tree pangolin
(Image credit: Tacugama)<\/p><\/div>\n

Another interesting animal that was captured is the shy Black Duiker which became rare due to over-hunting.\u00a0 Fortunately they are very adaptable animals and can live well in degraded habitats.<\/p>\n

\"The

The black duiker shows up (Image credit: Tacugama)<\/p><\/div>\n

The sanctuary also runs an eco lodge to generate much needed funds to look after the chimps. The lodge is situated within the protected area and have breathtaking views over the hills surrounding Freetown.<\/p>\n

\"Tucked

Tucked away in the thicket<\/p><\/div>\n

At the time of my visit daily tours at the sanctuary started at 10:30 and 16:00 and lasted about 1.5 hour.\u00a0 The cost of the tour for Sierra Leonean nationals were SLL20\u00a0000 and all other visitors SLL75\u00a0000 or USD15 for adults and USD5 for children.\u00a0\u00a0 Take note that all tours are strictly<\/em> by appointment only so please phone ahead and make arrangements and arrive in good time.\u00a0 The sanctuary can be contacted on:\u00a0 +232(0)44625107 or email them at info@tacugama.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This was yet another unplanned smiley \ud83d\ude42 added to my travel bucket on a road less traveled!<\/p>\n

You can also follow Tacugama\u00a0 on \u00a0Twitter (@Tacugama) and find them on Facebook (Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary).<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t take trips \u2013 trips take people.\u201d<\/span>
\nJohn Steinbeck<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On one of my trips to visit hubby in Sierra Leone we explored around the sprawling city of Freetown and heard from the locals about the chimp sanctuary high up in the hills. \u00a0My daughter was excited – she wanted to visit. \u00a0So we set out to find it. \u00a0 \u00a0The trip there in itself is quite a bit of an experience as you travel through dust trodden streets littered with old wooden houses high up on the hills. \u00a0The travel is slow going so enjoy the ride. \u00a0It is all part of the experience. Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary is tucked away in the threatened Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserves on the edge of Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone.\u00a0 The sanctuary spans about 100 acres (+- 40 hectares) of lush indigenous rain forests. In 1995 Bala Amarasekaran felt in his heart the desire, and had the vision, to rescue, confiscate and… Read more ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1306,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[554,414,435,79,589,205,182,555,1147],"geo":null,"yoast_head":"\nTHE CHIMPS OF TACUGAMA - TRAVELBUCKET<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/the-chimps-of-tacugama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE CHIMPS OF TACUGAMA - TRAVELBUCKET\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On one of my trips to visit hubby in Sierra Leone we explored around the sprawling city of Freetown and heard from the locals about the chimp sanctuary high up in the hills. \u00a0My daughter was excited – she wanted to visit. \u00a0So we set out to find it. \u00a0 \u00a0The trip there in itself is quite a bit of an experience as you travel through dust trodden streets littered with old wooden houses high up on the hills. \u00a0The travel is slow going so enjoy the ride. \u00a0It is all part of the experience. Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary is tucked away in the threatened Western Area Peninsula Forest Reserves on the edge of Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone.\u00a0 The sanctuary spans about 100 acres (+- 40 hectares) of lush indigenous rain forests. In 1995 Bala Amarasekaran felt in his heart the desire, and had the vision, to rescue, confiscate and... 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