IDA-Africa Presents 
Dr. Sheri Speede, Founder and Director of The Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center

Conservationist/Educator Returns to U.S. to address the urgency of saving the last of the wild chimpanzees 

"Their faces speak to me of loneliness, despair and utter boredom. But I see something else there...in their eyes...an intense curiosity for joy that has survived years of unfathomable deprivation. And I know that I have to help them.” Sheri Speede DVM

Who: IDA-Africa founder and director Sheri Speede, an American veterinarian, conservationist, educator and founder/director of IDA-Africa and the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center

What: IDA-Africa’s 2nd Annual San Francisco Fundraiser Reception - a rare opportunity to hear firsthand about IDA-Africa’s efforts to save the lives of orphaned chimpanzees in the jungles of Cameroon. The reception is part of a coast-to-coast effort, designed to raise awareness about the illegal multi-billion dollar international bushmeat trade that is wiping out Africa’s chimpanzees faster than deforestation.

In 1998 Dr. Speede created IDA-Africa to advocate for Cameroon’s endangered chimpanzees and gorillas and to provide a peaceful, safe, naturalistic refuge for chimpanzees orphaned when their mothers were killed for bushmeat. She established the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in a remote forest in Cameroon. Today, the Center is home to 47 adult, juvenile and infant chimpanzees who enjoy life and protection in extended family groups within vast tracts of enclosed forest. The Center also provides 23 local Cameroonians with full-time employment, environmental education to children and adults in the vicinity of the sanctuary, medical assistance to villagers, and serves as a springboard for an international campaign to save chimpanzees and gorillas.

Dr. Speede will speak about her dangerous experiences on the front lines of the bushmeat war, America’s connection to the bushmeat trade, how IDA-Africa is combating this illegal trade through education, insights into the complex lives of great apes and their importance to understanding human society and tips on what we can do in the U.S. to help the chimpanzees in Africa. A video presentation will portray life at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center.

Vegan hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer, and soft drinks will be served.

When: Saturday, August 20, 2005 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Where: The Womens Building, 3543 18th Street, San Francisco 94110

Seating is limited. Reservations are recommended
Tickets: $75.00 in advance, $85.00 at the door

Purchase Tickets at www.ida-africa.org/events.html or by calling (503) 643-8302. 

Media Contact: Max Green In Defense of Animals (415) 388-9641 x222 max@idausa.org



Dr. Sheri Speede and the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center


A Short Biography

In the lush rainforests of Cameroon at the heart of an emerald province filled with ancient cultures, bright flashes of deeply hued birds, and the splendor of all that is wild, chimpanzees die in agonizing pain – their bodies sold for bushmeat and souvenirs.


But those chimpanzees who are killed are not the only victims of this cruel and illegal trade. The young survivors – infants and juveniles – are victims as well. Visits to remote jungle villages and urban markets often include the sight of dejected orphans listlessly pining for their dead mothers. Roadside zoos and resort hotels exhibit adult chimpanzees – the grown-up orphans – tethered to the ground by short, heavy chains, or caged behind bars for a lifetime.

Opened in August of 1998, by American veterinarian Sheri Speede, the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center is the first and only primate care facility of its kind in Cameroon. Dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of adult chimpanzees, the sanctuary was designed to welcome animals that are commonly rejected at other facilities due to their overpowering size, strength, and the level of psychological trauma they have sustained. 

The unique focus on adult primates was conceived when Dr. Speede befriended three psychologically abused chimpanzees outside a resort hotel, where they had languished for 35 years in isolated cages. Jacky, Pepe, and Becky's dramatic recovery from their years of deprivation and isolation can easily be seen as they explore a natural forest environment, groom and socialize with each other, and begin to form a family group-essential to all chimpanzees. The success of these chimpanzees, the first rescued by IDA-Africa, marked a triumphant turning point for all adult chimpanzees awaiting rescue. 

“The sad truth is that if we don’t succeed in curbing the bushmeat trade soon, it will be too late for wild chimpanzees and gorillas,” said Dr. Speede. “The success of this tour demonstrates the public’s strong interest and sense of urgency that is needed for saving our primate relatives and remaining rainforests.”

For more information, please visit www.ida-africa.org.