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A chimpanzee rescue centre in Sierra Leone is demonstrating how people can make a difference by protecting their environment. The sanctuary, started just 15 years ago, is now home to a hundred of some of most endangered sub-species of chimp.
The wilderness can be deceiving.
This is not far from the capital of Sierra Leone where man is encroaching ever further into the jungle - and it's the animals who are paying the price.
Habitat loss is just one threat to west African chimpanzees - one of the most endangered sub-species.
And this is where the displaced end up.
The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary was founded almost by accident when Bala Amarasekaran found a baby chimp for sale on the side of the road.
15 years on, the sanctuary has survived a bloody civil war to become home to a hundred chimps with its own veterinarian.
[Dr. Simona Papa, Resident Veterinarian]:
"When there is a new arrival there are specific protocols that, there is a quarantine that we follow, there is a minimum three months period. We usually collect blood, we run the basic tests for the main infectious diseases, we obviously, if there is any major injuries or any major disease, we try to sort out."
In the wild, chimpanzee numbers in Sierra Leone have declined dramatically.
They are now extinct in four African countries where they used to flourish.
[Bala Amarasekaran, Founder of The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary]:
"The western chimpanzee is the most endangered among the sub-species and between Guinea and Sierra Leone we are having almost 50% of that population."
Chimpanzees are said to share around 98 percent of their genes with humans and if the Tacugama Santuary's research and education is successful, its founder hopes the creatures will continue to share some of the planet for generations to come.
