A world-famous sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees in Sierra Leone has reopened to the public, ending a five-month closure in protest at the dangers of deforestation, the reserve told AFP on Monday.

The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary has defied the threat of habitat loss and civil war to become the country's leading ecotourism destination and a model for environmental conservation across west Africa.

But after being faced with an alarming uptick in deforestation on its doorstep, the reserve's custodians shut its gates to visitors from May 26 to November 1, in an attempt to spur the government to action.

"Our closure was never a choice. It was an act of protection and a stand against illegal land-grabbing that posed a serious threat to Tacugama," Bala Amarasekaran, the sanctuary's founder

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