On March 25, 2008, the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy celebrated the arrival of a nine year old male chimpanzee rescued from business premises in Kigali, Rwanda. The chimpanzee, called “Gashuhe”, was flown into Kenya on February 22nd, courtesy of Kenya Airways, and kept in quarantine at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Headquarters in Nairobi for four weeks.

According to a report prepared by the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP), who ran a preliminary physical and behavioral examination on Gashue on request from ORTPN the Tourism and Wildlife authority in Rwanda, his physical condition appeared reasonable considering the extremely poor conditions that he had been forced to live in.

His cage was extremely small and offered no shelter from the elements; consequently his skin was severely damaged, and the small size of the cage infringed on his movement. “…The conditions in which he is living severely impact upon his welfare, both physical and psychological. … The lack of flooring in the cage obliges the chimpanzee to eat from an area that is contaminated with (his) urine and faeces” said the report.

Text Box: Gashuhe in his new room at Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary.The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary was set up in 1993 to receive and provide lifelong refuge to orphaned and abused chimpanzees from West and Central Africa, and is the only place in Kenya to view these amazing primates.

With the arrival of Gashuhe, the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary now hosts 42 chimpanzees. The chimpanzees at Sweetwaters can never be reintroduced to the wild and therefore need ongoing support and specialist care. It costs the sanctuary approximately $4,000 per year to take care of one chimpanzee.

If you would like to help us take care of these chimpanzees, please contact info@olpejetaconservancy.org.