Chimpanzee Sanctuary Volunteer & Internship Placements in Sierra Leone

Volunteers are required to commit to a minumum of 2 weeks and have a passion for wildlife conservation and aspects related to runninng a wildlife sanctuary. Interns and researchers are required to commit to a minimum of 4 weeks but will preferable stay for 3 to 6 months.

Volunteering at Tacugama will give you the opportunity to develop your skills and expertise, understand more of the challenges facing wildlife and habitat conservation, and learn much about the history of Sierra Leone. Volunteers participate in all aspects of our work and the volunteer role is varied.

Volunteer activities include: assisting with chimpanzee husbandry activities such as preparing food, cleaning enclosures and making enrichment (but no direct contact with chimps); assisting our community outreach team with education and reforestation activities; assisting our rangers on forest anti-poaching patrols; assisting with behavioural data collection and research; marketing and administration; and maintenance tasks. 

In order to ensure you get the best experience here at Tacugama, we try to match your skill set with our needs whilst ensuring you get the opportunity to conduct a wide range of activities to increase your to increase your personal development. Tacugama staff members provide full training and supervision but we also encourage you to use your initiative to further your personal and professional development.

Students studying veterinary science, conservation biology, wildlife conservation, environmental science, zoology, education or a related degree will benefit from participating in our tailored internship programs. The minimum recommended duration for an internship is 4 weeks but ideally students will stay for 8 - 12 weeks. We offer students the opportunity to do a Wildlife Conservation Internship, a Veterinary Internship or a Marketing & Communication Internship.

TCS offers scientific research opportunities to national and international university students studying conservation biology, wildlife conservation, environmental science, veterinary science, education studies, communication or related degrees.

We encourage students to conduct their bachelor and master’s thesis research with Tacugama. We have opportunities for on and off site research in some of the following areas: chimpanzee behavioural studies; community perception research; disease investigation; diet analysis; anti-poaching activities; biology of threatened species (such as pygmy hippo, colobus monkey, Diana monkey, timneh parrot, African manatee, pangolin, hooded vulture); canopy cover and habitat use research; and GIS mapping.

Volunteers, interns and researchers also get plenty of opportunities to explore Sierra Leone. It is a very safe country and has many beautiful beaches, fun nightlife, interesting culture, and wonderful wildlife. We endeavour to ensure that volunteers get lots of opportunities on their days off to enjoy these activities. Tacugama provides volunteers, interns and researchers with on-site shared accommodation, three meals per day and transport for a weekly supermarket run. We also help you to arrange activities on your days off with trusted local tour operators. 

Volunteers, interns and researchers must provide certificates for an up to date tetanus vaccination, yellow fever vaccination and a negative TB test result. Volunteers are also required to bring evidence of their personal health/travel insurance.