Protecting Chimpanzees

Thank you for supporting David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) through GlobalGiving.

Over the past six months, DSWF have continued to work alongside our ground-based conservation partners in Guinea to protect a key chimpanzee stronghold in and around the High Niger National Park (HNNP).

Since our last update in September, a military coup has taken place in Guinea and political instability remains rife. This has led to many big donors, including the World Bank and UNOPS, pulling their funding from the country making DSWF’s support more important than ever.

DSWF funding in Guinea aims to reduce the negative impacts that humans have on Guinea’s population of western chimps around the HNNP. The project delivers this through two strategies by raising awareness of environmental problems with adults and children and by providing alternative livelihoods to villages around the park. 

Due to school summer vacations and the rainy season hitting hard, education work has been harder to conduct this quarter, but the new education volunteer (who started in March) has helped scale the project and has conducted several training sessions with local educators. A third educator has joined the CCC team (the first female to join). This is essential to connect with local girls and women’s groups highlighting that they can do more than just run the home. The educator has great experience in agroforestry which will be vital to help expand the impact of CCC’s work in local areas.

Moving forwards, CCC will send an educator and one volunteer to the northern villages in the park which are not currently being engaged. A simplified version of the program will be delivered on this first contact and a movie night will be held to attract adults to engage more in environmental conservation. After evaluation of education initiatives during the period, analysis showed that knowledge was 2.72 times higher after education initiatives were conducted. 

During the reporting period, 300 children, 500 women and 7 communities were reached, and as a result have a greater understanding of chimpanzees ecology and the need to protect them.

Since April, bag recycling and soap making projects have been conducted. These workshops help provide additional and sustainable income to communities neighbouring the park which in turn disincentivise environmentally degrading activities such as cutting down trees. One soap making workshop and three bag recycling workshops were held. An extra village (Koura Sambouya) outside the project scope was also included. . Our ground-based conservation partners are also working on developing a new plan to implement an annual chimpanzee day in the local area. 

The Bigger Picture

Over the past 12 months, DSWF have continued our 37-year legacy of providing unwavering support to protect some of the world’s most endangered species. Over the course of 2022 we will continue to support our long-term conservation partners to protect wildlife, tackle wildlife crime and reduce poaching threats alongside engaging and supporting more community groups working to protect wildlife.

Thanks to your help, we have granted over £11 million in direct conservation support to turn the tide on extinction.

On behalf of everyone at DSWF and the wildlife we fight to protect, Thank You. 

Links:

• Read our 2020-2021 Impact Report
• Read our latest Wildlife Matters magazine.

Thank you for supporting David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation through GlobalGiving. As well as providing you with your bi-annual Chimpanzee project report full of fantastic news and results of this project, we would also like to inform you about an exciting campaign.

Since last August, our ground-based conservation partners, the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre (CCC), received three orphan chimps confiscated by the authorities as victims of the pet trade. These three were called Sewa, Dali and Marco. Sewa was for sale and was confiscated just in time before a Chinese citizen could buy her. She was dressed like a little girl and was extremely depressed and scared of people. After her quarantine she was introduced to the juvenile group where the older females immediately took care of her like older sisters would do in the wild. It was a huge relief for Sewa to be back with other chimps. 

Dali was confiscated in October 2020 and even though he was in a good physical state, he was very depressed too. Our ground-based conservation partners took care of him during his strict 3 weeks quarantine but sadly he suddenly stopped eating and became very sick. After multiple vet visits, he finally recovered and gained his strength back. He was firstly introduced to Sewa and then the rest of the youngsters. He was very excited to be able to play with the males of the orphan group.

Marco was also in a very poor state upon arrival to the centre. Unfortunately, he had been shot during his capture, and his jaw was broken and infected. He required a lot of love and vet care by the CCC team. After his recovery in quarantine, he joined Sewa and Dali then the rest of the youngsters.

The orphan group are now a fit and healthy group of 12 young chimpanzees between 1 and 7 years old. They go out in the forest every day to get used to living in the wild and CCC hope to be able to release them back into the wild in the future. The current chimpanzee release group at CCC is doing very well in the wild with the addition of another two births recently.

CCC aim to create further release groups and are currently investigating another protected forest in the North of Guinea as a potential new release site. A first study was conducted in March and an extensive one will be carried out later this year to determine its viability. However, it is a huge challenge to find a suitable site to release chimpanzees due to the increase in human encroachment across Guinea which is why awareness and education programmes across Guinea are equally as important in protecting Chimpanzee populations long term.

How can you help this vital work continue?

This week GlobalGiving are hosting their annual Little by Little Campaign this means that all donations donated through GlobalGiving to David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation between Monday 13^th and Friday 17^th September will receive 50% match funding from GlobalGiving. So, if you donate £20 today to any of our projects, we receive £30, making your contribution work that little bit harder!

We are hugely grateful that you have chosen to support us to help turn the tide on extinction. Thank you.

Little by Little Campaign T’s and C’s

• Campaign runs from Monday 13^th to Friday 17^th September.
• Donations up to the amount of $50 / £36 will be match funded by 50%.
• One donation per unique donor will be match funded.
• New monthly donations set up this week will be 50% match funded and your 4th donation will be 100% matched!
• All DSWF projects are eligable for match funding.