Please ensure to check the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) website for current volunteering opportunities with African primates.
Cameroon
Ape Action Africa - Rescue centre for injured or confiscated gorillas, chimpanzees and monkeys with an educational programme and striving to identify primate habitat for protection.
Cross River Gorilla Programme - Volunteer expeditions of 2-4 weeks to survey the Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla and the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee in the montane forest on the Cameroon/Nigeria border.
Limbe Wildlife Centre - A conservation and rehabilitation centre for wildlife with very strict rules against animal interactions as the aim is to release the animals back to the wild.
Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue - Centre for illegally-trafficked chimpanzees, with a community engagement and education programme.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Centre - Primate rehabilitation centre for orphaned animals.
Ghana
West African Primate Conservation Action (WAPCA) - Volunteer with Critically Endangered white-named mangabeys, Rolaway monkeys and much more with WAPCA in Accra or Kumasi. Office-based volunteering opportunities are also available in the U.K.
Guinea
Chimpanzee Conservation Centre - Rescue centre with opportunities for volunteering, internships and scientific research. 21 years and over. French language proficiency.
Madagascar
Centre ValBio - Research and study abroad opportunities available in Ranomafana National Park.
SEED Madagascar - Sustainable Environment Education and Development (SEED) offers conservation research volunteering opportunities and internships.
Malawi
Lilongwe Wildlife Centre - Leading centre in Malawi for rehabilitation, conservation and education. Offers volunteering, internships, veterinary placements, research placements and a wildlife veterinary medicine course.
Nigeria
Drill Ranch (Rehabilitation and Breeding Centre) - Long-term volunteering (6-18 months) for skilled participants and short-term volunteer options for paying volunteers.
Kenya
Colobus Conservation - Rescue centre and human-wildlife conflict mitigation to protect wild colobus around Diani Beach.
Tanzania
Animal Behaviour Research Unit - Mikumi National Park - This is a field study site managed by Anglia Polytechnic University. There are volunteer positions to contribute to the on-going (3 decades) study of the behaviour and ecology of yellow baboons. Requirements: an undergraduate degree (preferably biological) and a minimum of one year's commitment.
Uganda
Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary - Volunteering opportunities from 1 - 4 weeks available on Ngamba Chimp Island.
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre - Complete a long stay volunteer programme with an array of species, including chimpanzees, colobus, patas monkeys and baboons. You can access Ngamba Chimpanzee Island by boat and even visit the mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest during your trip (additional costs)!
Sierra Leone
Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary - Volunteer options for general volunteers and specialised interns or researchers.
South Africa
Inkawu Vervet Project - The site is located in Mawana Game Reserve in Kwazulu-Natal, on a 12,000h private ranch where multiple groups of fully habituated vervet monkeys have been studied for several years. The project recruits volunteer research assistants year-round to help post-doctoral researchers and PhD students with a broad range of research projects. Many previous team-members have gone on to PhD positions thanks to the strength of experience gained at IVP. For further information contact Dr Erica van de Waal.
Chimp Eden - This centre is part of the Jane Goodall Institute of South Africa and offers short and long-term volunteering positions.
Tsaobis Baboon Project - Tsaobis Baboon Project often looks for volunteers between May and September. The fieldwork will primarily involve daily follows of baboon troops on foot, collecting data on the behaviour and ecology of individually recognisable animals.
Vervet Monkey Foundation - Rehabilitation centre for over 600 primates. Click here for their volunteer information pack.
Zambia
Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage - Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust (CWOT) integrates orphaned individuals into social groups in large enclosures. There is an active education programme for local and international students.
