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21 September 2026
On the outskirts of Freetown, in the forested hills of Sierra Leone, there is a place where some of the country’s most vulnerable animals have been given another chance.
It is called Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary.
The sanctuary was founded in 1995 by Bala Amarasekaran and his wife, Sharmila, initially to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned Western chimpanzees. Over the years, it grew into a wider conservation organisation, working not only with animals but also with communities, schools and forests.
One incident from its history is almost unbelievable.
On 23 April 2006, 31 chimpanzees escaped from the sanctuary. Within two weeks, 21 had returned. Remarkably, 19 of them came back on their own. After two months, 26 were back.
There is something moving about that story.
We often speak of a sanctuary as a place that keeps animals safe. But sometimes it becomes something more. A place remembered as home.
Sierra Leone has also given the chimpanzee an extraordinary place in its national identity. The country declared it its national animal in 2019, and the chimpanzee later appeared on its passports.
Perhaps conservation is not only about protecting wildlife.
Sometimes, it is about giving a living creature the chance to belong somewhere again.
#SierraLeone #WildlifeConservation #Africa #RajatChandraSarmah
Rajat Chandra Sarmah, Guwahati, Assam, India, Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah5, YouTube: conversewithasmile, email rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com
