Apes Reporting Project

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Apes Reporting Project

Apes Reporting Project is a Project of Water Journalists Africa Dedicated to Endangered African Apes

02/06/2026

“Carrying her into the forest feels natural now. She is not just a chimpanzee, she feels like family.”

These are the words of Daniel Conteh, one of three caregivers who have been with Ramba every single day since she was nearly completely paralyzed in late 2024.

Daniel carries her on his back into the trees each afternoon. Mama P massages her limbs morning and evening. Gladys sleeps beside her every night.

Ramba is a western chimpanzee at Tacugama Sanctuary in Sierra Leone. She was rescued as a one-year-old from life as a pet. She was thriving until a rare neurological illness struck her down. Doctors believe she contracted herpesvirus encephalitis, a disease far more common in humans than in apes.

She has not given up. And neither has her team.

Read the full story. Link in bio.

Story by Fredrick Mugira | Photos by Renato Granieri |

28/05/2026

Most people know that humans and chimpanzees share roughly 98 to 99% of their DNA.

Fewer people understand what that really means in practice.

It means that a virus typically associated with humans can infect a chimpanzee and trigger the same devastating brain inflammation.

It means that the paralysis Ramba experienced, spreading from her limbs upward and weakening all four, follows the same neurological pattern doctors see in immunocompromised human patients.

The 1966 polio outbreak at Tanzania's Gombe National Park, documented by Dr. Jane Goodall, was one of the earliest recorded cases of a disease crossing from humans to great apes. Decades later, we are still learning how to prevent it.

Ramba's case, including a groundbreaking MRI performed on a chimpanzee in Sierra Leone, is helping scientists build that knowledge.

This is what One Health looks like in practice. Human health, animal health, and environmental health are inseparable.

Read the full story by Fredrick Mugira: http://apesreportingproject.org/ramba

Support Ramba's care → http://tacugama.com/product/support-ramba-copy/

Photos: Renato Granieri

Tacugamama Go Ape Foundation

25/05/2026

She learned to be a chimpanzee. Then she had to learn all over again.

Meet Ramba, rescued at one year old and almost completely paralyzed at seven. Her team at Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone never gave up on her.

Every day, her caregiver carries her on his back into the forest. Every night, someone sleeps by her side.

Swipe through to learn her story →

Story by Fredrick Mugira | 📷 Renato Granieri |

🔗 Link in bio to read the full story.

GreatApes

13/05/2026

Diana Kanweri spent eight years in Kibale Forest, Uganda, filming chimpanzees for the Netflix documentary Chimp Empire, becoming the first Ugandan woman on the Ngogo Chimpanzee Project.

What she discovered is something conservation science confirms again and again: when people truly see these animals, they cannot look away. That is why we tell these stories. Not for distant audiences in distant capitals, but for the communities living alongside these forests, and for the decision-makers who have the power to protect or destroy them.

The Apes Reporting Project exists to increase conservation coverage of Africa's great apes and amplify local African voices in global debates about their survival. Because the story does not start in a boardroom. It starts in the forest. Read Diana's story and more at apesreportingproject.org

07/05/2026

Bonobos share nearly all of our genetic code. Yet they are disappearing; one individual at a time from the Congo Basin rainforests, victims of poaching, deforestation, and a changing climate that is shrinking the only world they have ever known. With a reproductive cycle of just one birth every five years, their populations cannot recover fast enough to outpace the destruction.

At the Apes Reporting Project, we believe that journalism is a conservation tool. When editors assign these stories, when audiences read them, and when policymakers feel accountable to them, forests survive and species endure. Every article we publish is a small act of resistance against extinction.

We tell these stories because silence is the most dangerous thing of all.

Follow the Apes Reporting Project to stay connected to the African Great Apes and the journalists fighting to keep them here.

Read more on: www.apesreportingproject.org

29/04/2026

The price of tea is higher than we think.

A new investigation by Arthur BIZIMANA reveals that Burundi's chimpanzee population has collapsed by 60% — from ~500 to just 200 — as industrial tea plantations devour Kibira National Park.

Once spanning 90,000 hectares, the forest has shrunk to 30,000. The state-owned tea agency is felling the very trees that chimpanzees — and millions of Burundians — depend on.

This is a story about conservation, yes. But it's also about what happens when economic policy and ecological collapse collide in silence.

🔗 Read the full investigation: https://apesreportingproject.org/chimpanzees-of-kibira/

22/04/2026

In Uganda’s Kibale National Park, the Ngogo chimpanzees, once a highly cohesive community of about 200 individuals, are now divided into rival factions following years of tension and shifting hierarchies. The split between the Western and Central groups has led to repeated and coordinated violent encounters, with the conflict continuing into recent years.

As one local guide noted, “They have had conflicts before, but four days ago they staged a very fierce fight.” Another account highlights the toll of these clashes, with deaths recorded during ongoing territorial battles.

👉 Read more: https://apesreportingproject.org/the-ngogo-civil-war/

10/04/2026

Rescued. Rehabilitated. Rewilded.

At Lola ya Bonobo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, orphaned bonobos rescued from the wildlife trade are given a second chance through care, social bonding, and a path back to the wild.

This is more than a sanctuary. It is a place of healing, learning, and hope for one of our closest relatives.

🔗 Read the full story in bio

CongoBasin

07/04/2026

In the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lola ya Bonobo stands as a lifeline for orphaned bonobos, rescued from the bushmeat trade and illegal wildlife trafficking. As the world’s only sanctuary dedicated to bonobos, it provides not just care, but a pathway to healing, social recovery, and in some cases, a return to the wild.

This powerful story by Denise Kyalwahi highlights how conservation is more than protecting a species. It is about restoring lives, educating communities, and safeguarding one of humanity’s closest relatives in the only place they exist on Earth. With fewer than 20,000 bonobos left in the wild, efforts like these are critical to their survival.

👉 Read the full story: https://apesreportingproject.org/lola-ya-bonobo/

Earth Journalism Network

31/03/2026

Are you passionate about conservation and looking to build experience behind the scenes? The Apes Reporting Project is seeking remote interns to support our work in:

• Proposal Writing
• Fundraising and Partnerships

This is an opportunity to contribute to impactful conservation storytelling while gaining hands-on experience in resource mobilization and collaboration.

🔗 Learn more and apply here: https://apesreportingproject.org/opportunities/

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