The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) and the Tai Chimpanzee Project (TCP)

From 2006 to 2007, when I was still collecting data for my PhD under the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, I initiated a dialogue with the logging companies. We discussed a sustainable logging plan to ensure the protection of priority areas which is vital for the survival of the wild chimpanzees in the surrounding forests of Tai National Park. Discussions were not easy and the Goin-Debe Classified Forest was already a poor secondary forest. Fortunately, the chimpanzees had survived the intense logging in the area. Surveys revealed that 250 chimpanzees still remained in this forest. However, in 2010, the forest began to disappear piece by piece only to be replaced with illegal cocoa plantations and as the forest disappeared, so did the chimpanzee population. This devastation of an incredible species is what made me leave my research domain to support the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation and protect these marvellous creatures. Without our help, what is the likelihood of their survival if deforestation crosses West Africa like a bulldozer? Giving up on my research was not easy, but what helped me during this transition was going back to the research area. All I would have to do is observe one of the habituated chimpanzee groups for a while. This short but crucial visit would clearly remind me of why I joined this fight.