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Chimpanzee
Christelle Colin, Director
Kanda, one of the chimps at CCC

Located in the heart of the Haut Niger National Park in Guinea, Chimpanzee Conservation Centre (CCC) was established in 1997 to address increasing declines in wild chimpanzee populations in West Africa, and Guinea in particular.  

CCC is key to the conservation and welfare of wild chimpanzees in Guinea and provides sanctuary for those confiscated as a result of law-enforcement activities that fight the illegal international trade in baby chimpanzees. The are manly smuggled for the exotic pet trade. CCC provides rescued chimps with the care they need during their rehabilitation programme which includes integrating them into social groups in a natural environment and generally preparing them for their release back into the wild. This process can take as long as 10 years.

CCC is one of only two projects in Africa to have successfully rehabilitated and released chimpanzees. The Centre also provides life-time care for chimps who can never go back to the wild due to serious social and physiological issues. 

 

CCC's presence in the Park, mainly through their release programme, actively contributes to the overall protection of the Haut Niger National Park and its wildlife which includes not only wild chimpanzees but many other species such as leopard and the small populations of highly endangered lion in West Africa. CCC also operate a successful education outreach programme that aims to mitigate human/wildlife conflict, and a research and monitoring programme that contributes to the overall conservation of wild chimpanzees in Africa. 

What the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre does

  • Rescue and rehabilitate orphaned chimpanzees confiscated by the Guinean government, and provide them with the best possible care

  • Facilitate the work of the government in their fight to combat illegal trafficking of chimpanzees, by providing sanctuary to confiscated chimps

  • When possible, release chimpanzees back into the wild after completion of a rehabilitation process

  • Monitor released troops and continue to research areas suitable for future releases sites

  • Educate local communities and the general/international public on the threats faced by wild chimpanzee populations which, in turn, contributes towards the prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking

How Olsen Animal Trust helps

  • In response to an urgent appeal relating to an imminent arrest of illegal wildlife traffickers, OAT provided necessary funding for the building of four new quarantine enclosures at CCC. This facilitated the rescue and care of four chimps that were confiscated following the arrest of the trafficker who was holding them

  • Following a personal visit to the project, OAT are providing further funding to enable CCC to upgrade and expand their sanctuary facilities 

  • In conjunction with CCC, OAT also facilitated the release of five baboons into the Haut Niger National Park. These primates were confiscated by authorities as it is illegal to keep them in captivity in Guinea, but they had no suitable solution for their care. With the help of Dr. Cheryl Mvula MBE, the baboons we given a better quality of life whilst they were prepared for their release. They were successfully released back into a remote area of the park in the summer of 2018

Project Images - hover over for details

Hawa
A rescued chimp receives medical care
Walking the troop
Living wild and free
Dave, our OATOKE's visit
Coco
Coco's new enclosure
CCC team with their OAT shirts and caps 
Dave with Dave!

For further information on the work of Chimpanzee Conservation Centre please visit www.projetprimates.com

 © Olsen Animal Trust, Chimpanzee Conservation Centre, Project Primates  All rights reserved
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