Great Ape Trust of Iowa

The Great Ape Trust of Iowa works for the conservation of great apes — bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans — through a variety of programs. We support the conservation of and research on wild great apes and their habitats, provide sanctuary for captive great apes, and conduct voluntary, noninvasive research on ape cognition and intelligence. We also sponsor many in-person and web-based educational programs about great apes.

Much of our work focuses on African apes — bonobos, chimpanzees, and gorillas — and their habitats.

In Rwanda, we are working with the government to protect the last few chimpanzees living in the Gishwati National Forest. This forest, once a vast and pristine area, has been reduced to just 3.5 square miles. As a result of deforestation, the area is plagued with flooding, landslides, erosion, decreased water quality, and heavy river siltation. The chimpanzees living there struggle to find enough food and suitable habitat, and live in fear for their lives. The quality of life for the human inhabitants has also been dramatically reduced.

To restore the Gishwati, we have launched urgently needed programs of research, protection, community education, and reforestation. Our aim is to protect and preserve the forest resources, and so protect the chimpanzees, and also to provide for sustainable use of the resources by the people living near the forest’s edge.