Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, West Africa's largest chimpanzee refuge and one of Sierra Leone's best-known conservation institutions, has reopened to visitors after a months-long closure staged in protest at deforestation and illegal land-grabbing around the site.

The sanctuary, located in the hills on the outskirts of Freetown, shut its doors to tourists in August 2025 after more than two months of encroachment on its buffer zone. Its founder, Bala Amarasekaran, said the protest was a last resort to draw attention to the destruction of forest habitat that the rescued chimpanzees depend on.

According to reporting by France 24 and the Associated Press, the refuge only reopened after the Sierra Leonean government committed to tackle the threats to the sanctuary, including stronger action against illegal construction and logging in the surrounding protected areas.

Conservationists widely welcomed the reopening but warned that the underlying pressures — urban expansion, logging, and land speculation — remain. Tacugama is home to dozens of rescued western chimpanzees, a critically endangered species, and the chimpanzee is Sierra Leone's national animal.

The sanctuary also plays a growing role in eco-tourism and environmental education, and its leadership has urged authorities to follow through on enforcement so that the closure protest does not have to be repeated.

Sources: France 24, Associated Press, Reuters.