The CRP is unable to accept volunteers at present but any change in policy will be advised on the CRP website.

Friends of Animals

The CRP currently offers an Adoption Program, at a cost of 30.00/US$52.00/EUR50.00 per year. For more information, please visit

The Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project (formerly known as the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Association) is the longest-running primate sanctuary in Africa. Stella Brewer-Marsden started the work of the project in 1969 in Abuko Nature Reserve, The Gambia, as a solution for chimpanzees confiscated from hunters and traders by the Gambian wildlife authorities. In 1974 Brewer-Marsden began to rehabilitate & integrate a group, formed in Abuko N.R., into a wild chimpanzee community in Niokolo Koba N.P., Senegal. In the fifth year in Niokolo Koba N.P. the aggression shown by the resident community was such that the rehabilitated chimpanzees had to be relocated for their safety. In early 1979 they arrived at the River Gambia N.P… Over the years the CRA continued to receive chimpanzees from numerous sources: ex-pets, confiscations by customs officials in Europe and the U.S.; Spanish beach chimpanzees and further confiscations by officials in West Africa.

Today, more than 70 chimpanzees occupy three islands (435, 77 and 53 hectares respectively) in the River Gambia National Park. Many of these chimpanzees were born on the islands, the sons and daughters of the distressed orphans nurtured back to health and rehabilitated there over 20 years ago. Ten third generation chimpanzees have been born on the islands to date; this, and the fact that the CRP chimpanzees are able to competently bear and raise their own offspring, indicates that the CRP has succeeded in saving not just individuals brought to the sanctuary, but the potential for generations to follow.

In 1999 Brewer-Marsden was appointed to the Order of the Golden Ark by the late Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands for her pioneering work in rehabilitation and the remarkable chimpanzee adoption programme all with the support of inspired volunteers.

In 2006, the CRP opened its Badi Mayo tented tourist camp, which allows visitors to sleep and eat within sight and sound of the chimpanzees and other wildlife. Brewer-Marsden also received an OBE from the British Empire and was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (DVMS) from the University of Glasgow.

Brewer-Marsden passed away following a lengthy illness in 2007, and chimpanzee expert Janis Carter was recruited to oversee day-to-day operations of the sanctuary.

CRP
P.O. Box 2208
Serrekunda Post Office
The Gambia
janisacarter@yahoo.com