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Projects > Jinja Chimpanzee Project, Uganda
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Jinja Chimpanzee Project, Uganda
 Location & Field Conditions
Our Chimp Project is based on an Island in the Nile some 35km downstream from its source, Lake Victoria. This part of Uganda is lush and fertile; the surrounding countryside is planted with fruit, cash crops and plantations, and just about anything will grow. The islands in the Nile are relatively untouched and retain much of their natural habitat. For this reason, Kalagala Island in the Nile, has been chosen as a chimp sanctuary. The development of this island and its visitor facilities is the focal point of this project.
Base camp: Our project base camp is just south of Jinja, on a bluff overlooking the Nile. This is where watersports enthusiasts “put-in” for a white-knuckle, whitewater rafting ride on the river. The camp has good transport and communication links with the project site and with Kampala. We sleep in tents (supplied by VentureCo) and the site has permanent cooking, dining and washing facilities.
Nearest town: Jinja is 5km from the Base Camp. Uganda’s capital Kampala is 50km away.
Background: primates under threat in Uganda
Uganda boasts a wide variety of primates ranging from mountain gorillas and chimpanzees to the tiny wide-eyed bush baby. Unfortunately, mankind's closest living relatives face increasing peril from humans and some could soon disappear forever.
There are two main contributing factors at work in East Africa:
- Bushmeat:
Chimps, gorillas and other wildlife have traditionally been hunted as delicacies, and taken as 'Bushmeat'. Traditional hunting methods, using bow and arrow and hunting for your own family, used to have a low impact. But increased gun use, combined with the creation of roads through the forest which make hunting trips easy, have escalated the killing.
- Exotic Pets:
There is also a flourishing trade in primates (especially baby chimps) as exotic pets, circus performers or photographic props. Baby chimps are one thing, adults quite another, they are smart and immensely powerful, so don’t make “good” pets after a couple of years. This is when you find them chained in back yards, locked in concrete compounds and a host of other inappropriate places.
The problem is that even if rescued, pet chimps can’t be released to the wild, they don’t know how to look after themselves and other chimps would simply rip them to pieces. The Jinja Chimpanzee Sanctuary on the Nile is one solution to the dilemma. It is an uninhabited island with mature forest growth. A secure environment is guaranteed and the chimps are able to live in as natural a way as is feasible.
The project aims are three-fold:
- Reforestation of previously cleared land.
- To provide facilities for visitors who are interested in chimpanzees. Visitors pay to view the wildlife, thus funding the project and providing an income stream for the host community. This income will help support the sanctuary
- To encourage local farmers to produce feedstuffs (mainly fruit) that the sanctuary will buy at a fair price to supplement the chimps’ diet.
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