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Photo courtesy
Wild Chimpanzee Foundation |
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There are only about 10,000 chimpanzees remaining in the Ivory Coast and they live in fragmented forest habitats. Only about half live in formally protected areas, resulting in frequent human-chimpanzee conflict, such as crop-raiding and hunting. The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, under the direction of noted primatologists Christophe and Hedwige Boesch, has documented that when Ivorians attend plays about chimpanzees, watch films about them, and read well-written magazine articles, they perceive chimpanzees more positively, know more about them, and show more concern about conservation in general.
When chimpanzees raid their crops, these people tend to chase them off rather than kill them. They also eat less chimpanzee meat. These changes underpin a priority for the conservation of West African chimpanzees: conduct education and information programs in all the regions with chimpanzee populations to reduce human threats to their survival.
The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation is seeking to increase public education programs in the Ivory Coast’s Banco National Park. Banco has a small chimpanzee population, which is remarkable since it’s within the capital city of Abidjan with its three million people. Banco has great importance as a public education and awareness center. Great Ape Trust provided $7,400 in 2007 to help pay the salaries of Banco’s public education staff and to host visits by school groups at the center, known as La maison du Banco. |
Great Ape Trust is certified by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums
