Photo Courtesy of Dr. Serge Wich

The Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary houses orphaned and rescued chimpanzees. The Sanctuary is located on a 100-acre island in Lake Victoria, 15 miles south of Entebbe, Uganda.  A Great Ape Trust scientific delegation visited the sanctuary in 2006, and was extremely impressed with the facilities and

Photo Courtesy of Dr. Serge Wich

care of the chimpanzees. There were 49 chimpanzees of all ages and both sexes living in one large group that had access to a large forest area on the island. They are fed several times each day, and brought into a protected holding building each night. The proximity of the island to Entebbe makes it an attractive venue for foreign tourists and local school children. Visitors are delighted as the chimpanzees emerge from the forest for the feedings, and enjoy the noisy competition that ensues – one enterprising female seemed to quietly collect all of the carrots. These visits provide an excellent opportunity to increase knowledge of chimpanzee biology and public awareness of chimpanzee

conservation efforts.

The education staff at Disney’s Animal Kingdom designed a set of educational graphics for Ngamba’s visitation program. Great Ape Trust contributed funds for the educational materials, which were displayed at the sanctuary in time for the International Primatological Congress in Entebbe.  Most of the Congress’ 700 participants visited Ngamba during the meetings.