Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary

In the late 1800’s, the widowed ‘Queen Nyarroh’ of Barri, fell in love with the Chief of Koya, who lived on the opposite side of the Moa river, behind Tiwai Island. As a gift of love, Queen Nyarroh gave half of Tiwai to the Koya Chief, so the Chiefdoms would share ownership. Tiwai was identified as a special biosphere for wildlife conservation in the late 1970’s and later, on the request of the Barri & Koya peoples, who recognized Tiwai’s value, gained official status as a wildlife sanctuary.

© Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary - Used with permission

COMMUNITY CONSERVATION INITIATIVE

Tiwai is a community conservation program, managed by the Tiwai Island Administrative Committee (TIAC), which represents both communities, government, Universities & conservation organizations. All funds raised go towards running the project as well as supporting the Community Development Fund, to help finance community initiated programmes.

NATURE RESEARCH

In order to better understand Tiwai’s special environment, the Department of Biological Sciences, Njala University College (NUC), is coordinating a wide range of biological research on Tiwai, including a full inventory of all plants living on the island.

TIWAI ISLAND FACTS

• Tiwai in Mende language means ‘big island’
• Tiwai Island is Sierra Leone’s first & only community conservation programme
• At 12 sq kms, Tiwai is one of Sierra Leone’s largest inland islands
• The first written Mende language, ‘Ki-ka-ku’ was invented by Kisimi Kamara, in Vaama … 3 kms from Tiwai Island
• Over 135 different bird species, including 8 types of hornbills can be found on Tiwai
• Tiwai has one of the highest concentration and diversity of primates in the world … 11 species
• Tiwai’s wild chimpanzees use stones as hammers and tree roots as anvils to crack open hard nuts
• The rare pygmy hippopotamus is a solitary animal, eating the swampy vegetation on land & in the river
• Over 700 different plant species live on Tiwai
• The Gola Forest Reserves, which host the last significant patches of rainforest in Sierra Leone, spread east of Tiwai to the Liberian border
• In the rainy season, the Moa River offers opportunities for white-water rafting, for the brave hearts!

BOAT TOURS

The Moa River journeys from Guinea, close to the tip of the river Niger, traveling south across Sierra Leone & flushing out in to the Atlantic Ocean. The wide open river hosts a cluster of islands, including Tiwai. You can take a river tour in canoe or motorboat, watching birds fly overhead or river turtles surface. For explorers, night tours search for the elusive and extremely rare pygmy hippopotamus.

© Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary

THE BEACHES

At the tip of Tiwai’s northern edge lies one of two stretches of sandy beach. Access to the beach is seasonal, as in the rainy season, the sandy mounds are hidden underwater. You can enjoy
a cooling swim in the fresh water … look out for river otter paw prints as they sometimes like to play on the sand.

FOREST WALKS

Webs of trails weave through the Tiwai forest, allowing visitors and researchers to explore up to 50 km of walking paths. If you move silently through the forest, you can glimpse some of the rarest and most colorful primates in the world, such as the diana and colobus monkeys.

WHAT TO BRING

Tiwai is a unique rainforest island where visitors can camp in prepared tents surrounded by an evergreen forest & the sounds of hornbills and monkeys calling from the canopies.

While Tiwai Island offers basic camping services for visitors, you will have to bring some equipment with you;

• bed sheets & a blanket (it can get very cold at night in the rainforest!)
• toiletries (soap, toothpaste etc.)
• drinking water (pump water is available )
• torchlight
• food (ONLY local food – rice & sauce – offered ) Local food is prepared by one of the community members for those who wish to order food. Please remember that the nearest small shops are 15 km from the island!

Artisan crafts are on sale at the visitors centre. You are also encouraged to help collect ecological data, by marking all wildlife sightings on the board map, Visitors Centre.

Contact Information

Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA)
1 Beach Road
Lakka
Freetown Peninsula
Sierra Leone

Tel: +232 76 611 410
email: enfoafrica@hotmail.com or efasl@sierratel.sl

Web: www.efasl.org.uk

All images on this page: © Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary - Used with permission