Please help save them - they are rapidly approaching extinction
Humans and chimpanzees are genetically 98% alike. Sadly, that doesn’t stop humans from stripping chimpanzees of their health, food and habitat.
Chimpanzee populations are shrinking at an alarming rate in the face of expanding human activity. Mining, deforestation, disease and hunting are weakening key populations by the day. Shockingly, estimates suggest that wild chimps could be on the verge of extinction within just 30 years.
To give these lovable and charismatic charmers a chance, we need to engage with communities and governments to protect habitats, strengthen law enforcement and ensure rangers are adequately equipped and trained.
Please help them – if we abandon them to their fate, chimpanzees won’t stand a chance
£103
would help pay for crucial surveys of the chimpanzees' habitat
£47
would help pay for a GPS unit, to allow community rangers to navigate the forest
£22
would help pay for equipment for one community ranger, including waterproofs, a backpack and a torch
£10
would provide a days rations for a team, allowing them to stay on the move protecting chimpanzees
Why are chimpanzees endangered?
Chimpanzees face threats from a wide range of human activities, all of which have escalated in recent years.
The expansion of mining operations, oil and timber extraction and road-building are all cutting away chimpanzee habitat.
Without these forests, they won’t survive.
In addition, more people in chimpanzee habitat brings more demand for their meat. Snaring and hunting continue to ravage chimpanzee communities.
Finally, all this human interaction exposes vulnerable chimpanzees to diseases. For example, Ebola Virus Disease has already devastated entire chimpanzee populations.
These factors have combined to drive chimpanzees into a fraction of their former range. Furthermore, chimpanzees’ slow breeding rate means that they cannot reproduce quickly enough to halt this decline.
Although their future looks bleak and uncertain, we have a plan to save them.
Chimpanzee communities are some of the most incredible things in the natural world. They use medicine, create tools and form exceptionally deep family bonds - making it all the more tragic when troops are torn apart by hunting.
How can we protect chimpanzees?
Protecting chimpanzees from this crisis involves taking a multipronged approach to conservation.
A great deal of chimpanzee loss stems from a lack of protected habitat, little to no law enforcement when chimpanzees are hunted, poor understanding of the situation within communities and industry, and a lack of collaborative cross-border action involving local authorities and governments.
To protect the last remaining groups of chimpanzees, we must work ambitiously to address all these issues.
And we are.
What is Fauna & Flora doing to protect chimpanzees?
We are protecting chimpanzees in many parts of their range from Liberia and Guinea to the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Uganda.
Our action plans are bringing together local communities, governments and law enforcement bodies to tackle chimpanzee decline head on, with bold and long-lasting conservation measures. Examples of our work include establishing protected habitats, bolstering ranger and law enforcement capacity, and forming wildlife corridors vital for reuniting fragmented chimp populations.
This ambitious work is highly demanding and heavy on our resources, so we need your support.
Your donation will enable us to tackle the surge in chimpanzee threats by expanding both the range and focus of our work.
A young orphaned chimpanzee - something which is becoming all the more common in this extinction crisis.
Why Fauna & Flora?
Our work spans continents and tackles some of the most pressing environmental issues. With over a century of active conservation under our belts, we can draw on a deep well of experience in implementing species recovery plans that really work.
That track record shows we are ideally placed to save our closest animal relative – the lovable chimp.
+44 1223 749019
To join by phone, or for more information, give us a call.