Tiwai Island: West Africa's Premier Primate Sanctuary
Tiwai Island on the Moa River hosts 11 primate species including pygmy hippos and the endangered western chimpanzee — one of the highest primate diversities per square kilometre anywhere on Earth
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Tiwai Island Primate Research
The Wildlife Conservation Society has been studying Tiwai since 1982 — the island's 12 km² contains pygmy hippo, Diana monkey, western red colobus, olive colobus and chimpanzee
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Pygmy Hippopotamus Night Walk
Night walks with trained guides on Tiwai's forest trails may encounter pygmy hippos — the secretive forest hippo that weighs just 270 kg, much smaller than its common cousin
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Observation of chimpanzees
Tiwai's chimpanzee community has been studied for decades — the forest allows close proximity to habituated groups engaging in natural behavior in ancient rainforest
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Diana Monkey Troop
The Diana monkey — distinctive with its white facial markings and chestnut back — lives in large troops in Tiwai's forest canopy; their calls warn other species of predators
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Moa River Night Sounds
Camping on Tiwai Island, the sounds of the Moa River mingle with the calls of forest bats, fruit bats and wading hippos - a soundscape of extraordinary African wilderness
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Community Protection Model
Tiwai is jointly managed by the local Kpaa Mende community and international conservation organizations – a model of community-led conservation that has protected the island since the 1980s