Mission Statement

Project Primate, Inc. is a United States 501C (3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of chimpanzees, chiefly through the support and rehabilitation of chimpanzees who have been orphaned or otherwise taken from the wild, and through local public education.

Project Primate, Inc. is incorporated in the State of Illinois (file number: 6121-440-2) and is exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code (Employer Identification Number: 52-2146831).

Legal Entity of the CCC

Project Primate, Inc. has a Guinean affiliate that is registered in Conakry as a local non-governmental organization (NGO) called Primates-Guinée. An agreement between the local NGO and the Guinean government has been signed. The CCC and Primates-Guinée work in close collaboration with the Direction National des eaux et Forêts (DNEF) and in compliance with Guinean laws. The support of the Guinean government is critical to ensure success of the project. The CCC is a member of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance.

Objectives

Many species of large mammals throughout Africa are threatened with extinction due to the destruction of their habitat and unsustainable levels of hunting and capture. The common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is no exception, and all four subspecies are listed as endangered in the IUCN 2008 Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2008). The West African subspecies (P. t. verus) is the second most threatened of the four (Butynski, 2000; Lee et al., 1988; IUCN, 2008).

The trend in population decline in the Western subspecies of chimpanzee is quite alarming. The population size of wild chimpanzees in Côte d'Ivoire has declined by nearly 90% in 18 years, falling from an estimated 8,000 to 12,000 individuals in 1990 to 1,800 in 2008 (Campbell et al. 2008). Although last surveyed in 1998, the Republic of Guinea, neighboring Côte d'Ivoire, is considered today as the last stronghold for the P. t. verus subspecies, numbering approximately 17,582 (8,113-29,011) individuals nationwide (Ham, 1998). The "Parc National du Haut Niger" (PNHN), with strictly protected areas covering 5,500 km2 and the entire area exceeding 100,000 km2, was recognized in 2002 as one of seven top priority sites for chimpanzee conservation in West Africa (Kormos et al, 2003). The PNHN was recognized in 2004 as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. In view of recent dramatic declines in chimpanzee numbers in Côte d'Ivoire, the PNHN is now more than ever one of the last remaining non-fragmented legally protected areas harboring a viable population of chimpanzees in West Africa. Its long term protection is thus vital for the future of chimpanzees in West Africa.

The ultimate goal of the CCC is to maintain a viable, self-sustaining population within the PNHN by ensuring long term protection of the park, by enhancing the genetic diversity of the verus population within the park, and by promoting conservation awareness locally and nationwide. The CCC has therefore three primary objectives: 1) the release of a maximum number of rehabilitated orphans back into the wild, 2) the reinforcement of park protection to help conserve the wild and released chimpanzee population and other wild fauna currently living in the PNHN, and 3) the promotion of public awareness about the threats to chimpanzees in view of stopping the bushmeat and pet trade in the region.

All of the CCC's objectives are part of a worldwide conservation effort to save great apes. The CCC is the second sanctuary in Africa, after HELP-Congo to have released chimpanzees back to the wild and the only one that has successfully done so in West Africa. The CCC methodology is pioneering: the release of adult chimpanzees as a group has never been done anywhere in the world. Although the CCC is a major player in Guinea, its limited human and logistical resources have given it little leeway to broaden its activities beyond the PNHN.

Project information

Despite the existence of one of the largest wild chimpanzee populations in West Africa, only one project provides sanctuary for confiscated chimpanzees in Guinea. But the illegal trading of chimpanzees for the pet market, agricultural deforestation and habitat destruction are significant problems for the chimpanzees of Guinea.

To accomplish its first goal, the CCC has continuously improved the living condition of the chimpanzees by improving and developing the CCC chimpanzee facilities, building a veterinary room, two quarantine areas and installing a large electrical fence which provides the chimpanzees with more freedom.

In order to meet its second goal, the CCC is re-socializing the chimpanzees in order to prepare them for their release. This re-socialization process includes food search, nest making, behavioral study, group dynamic study and predator awareness. The most difficult task left is has been to find the perfect release site. A number of criteria have to be met which explain the difficulty and time spent in finding such a location. We have decided to establish the release site within the Parc National du Haut Niger (Park).

CCC's third goal of education has been ongoing through the creation of stickers and posters, as well as, broadcasted radio messages. Since September 2005, the CCC and Project Primate are major partners to the chimpanzee conservation and sensitization program funding by USAID and managed by the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). The CCC's role in this program is specifically aimed at creating a mass media campaign in order to enhance Guineans awareness about the protection of wild chimpanzees. The director of the CCC is acting as key personnel in Guinea. To see the stickers and hear the broadcasted radio messages go to our "Education" section.

The CCC's ultimate goal is to eventually become a regional chimpanzee sanctuary and to preserve the wild population of chimpanzees existing in Guinea to prevent the extinction of the subspecies Verus, which is rapidly approaching.

Funding needs

The CCC sanctuary running costs are about $55,000 per year. The CCC is one of the most cost efficient non-profit non-governmental organizations in the world as it relies on volunteers and competent local staff. The PNHN protection component and release chimpanzees' monitoring cost about $40,000 each. Funding for the next release needs to be secure. Collars for all the releasable chimpanzees will cost close to $50,000.