Abstract
In April 2006, a group of chimpanzees escaped from the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone, resulting in the death of 1 local citizen and injury of another. The chimpanzees caused no further damage after the initial incident. Of the 31 escaped chimpanzees, 27 returned to the sanctuary by the end of 2006, 21 of them voluntarily. The sanctuary is in a forest reserve, a habitat of wild chimpanzees. Ironically, the tragic incident provided an opportunity to observe the behavior of the escaped chimpanzees and their adaptability in the forest. As a result of the incident, local communities could have come to fear the chimpanzees or develop negative feelings toward the sanctuary and its activities, which include keeping a colony of orphaned chimpanzees for rehabilitation and promoting the protection of wild populations. However, collaboration and understanding among the sanctuary, local communities, and government authorities resulted in peaceful handling of the situation and the humane retrieval of 27 of the escaped chimpanzees. As the number of chimpanzees in African sanctuaries increases, they are responsible more than ever for minimizing hazards to surrounding communities. It is important for sanctuaries to develop understanding and to raise support from local communities and government authorities to help them avoid crises and continue their activities.
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Acknowledgment
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) core-to-core program HOPE; the Matsushita International Foundation; the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture; Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Young Scientists A, 18681036, 2006-2008 to Gen Yamakoshi); the JSPS Global COE Program; In Search of Sustainable Humanosphere in Asia and Africa; and JSPS program, Initiatives for Attractive Education in Graduate Schools: Training of Researchers for Applied Area Studies by on Site Education and Research partially funded the study. In Sierra Leone, we thank the former President Dr. Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, Dr. Sama Banya, the police force (Operational Support Division Special Operation), K. Bangura, M. Mansaray, the Wildlife Conservation Branch and the Forestry Division under the National Commission for the Environment (the Government of Sierra Leone), the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone, L. Dotras, W. Tucker, M. Kapia and the rest of the staff at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, M. Mammah, and the people in the communities around the Western Area Forest Reserve, especially in Regent, Bathurst. Charlotte. A. Kabasawa and the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary extend our sincere sympathies to the family of the deceased, I. Bangura, and the injured, M. Mammah. We thank Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) for its unfailing assistance and moral supports at all times. A. Kabasawa also thanks Drs. T. Matsuzawa and G. Yamakoshi for their guidance.
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Kabasawa, A., Garriga, R.M. & Amarasekaran, B. Human Fatality by Escaped Pan troglodytes in Sierra Leone. Int J Primatol 29, 1671–1685 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9323-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9323-0