Sanctuary
Chimpanzees are not native to Kenya
Which is exactly why there is a sanctuary for them here, and why Ol Pejeta is straightforward about what it is.
What it is
Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, within Ol Pejeta, takes in chimpanzees rescued from the black market and from conflict zones in central and west Africa — animals confiscated from traffickers, or orphaned by the bushmeat trade.
They cannot be returned to the wild. Most arrived traumatised and young, without the social knowledge a wild chimpanzee learns from its group. The sanctuary provides large enclosures, social groups and lifelong care.
Why we say "not native" so plainly
Because a surprising number of visitors leave thinking they have seen wild Kenyan chimpanzees, and some operators do not trouble to correct them.
Kenya has no wild chimpanzee population. Every chimpanzee at Ol Pejeta is a rescue from somewhere else. That does not make the sanctuary less worth visiting — it makes it a different kind of visit, and you should know which kind you are having.
On sanctuary ethics generally
Wildlife "sanctuaries" vary enormously and some are a great deal less admirable than they appear. What distinguishes a good one: no breeding, no direct contact with visitors, no performances, a clear explanation of where the animals came from, and honesty about whether release is possible.
Sweetwaters meets those tests, which is why we are comfortable recommending it.
What a visit is like
About an hour. Raised walkways along large enclosures on either side of a river, with keepers who explain individual animals’ histories.
It is genuinely affecting, and it is the thing children talk about afterwards — more than the rhino, frequently. Adults tend to find the individual histories harder going than they expected.
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