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One man's 30 years of toil to save Sierra Leone's orphaned chimps

Founder and director Bala Amarasekaran at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Freetown, on April 24, 2025. [AFP]

Bala Amarasekaran has never felt like running his world-renowned sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees in Sierra Leone was truly work, having come to his calling only after several unexpected twists of fate.

Standing in his Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary not far from the capital Freetown, he tenderly patted a young ape's nose and stroked its cheek, whispering a few words of encouragement into its ear.

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