In remote Senegal, chimp researchers left gold-mining work for research.

Local villagers employed by the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project say the research has offered an alternative to informal gold mining, and the team studies a group of savannah-dwelling chimpanzees noted for using tools in hunting.

Researchers from nearby Bedik and Bassari villages now work at the Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project and say the role has given them an alternative to artisanal gold mining. The project was founded in 2001 by primatologist Jill Pruetz and focuses on a community of chimpanzees that live in savannah rather than forest. The team records behaviour routinely, noting social interactions, vocalisations and feeding, and follows individual adult males each day. The chimps live in the Kedougou region near Mali and Guinea and show adaptations to heat that interest scientists studying human evolution. Key facts: - Michel Tama Sadiakhou has worked on the Fongoli project since 2009 and is now head researcher; he previously worked in local gold mines. - Five people from local villages staff the project, and most did not complete high school; the researchers and project manager come from the Bedik and Bassari ethnic groups. - The Fongoli community numbers about 35 chimpanzees and includes females that have been documented regularly using branches as spears to hunt small primates. - The Kedougou region accounts for most of Senegal's artisanal gold sites and has high poverty rates; many people work in informal mines known locally as dioura. - The rise in artisanal mining has been linked to increased water pollution, deforestation and risks of disease transmission that pose challenges for both people and wildlife. Summary: The project has provided local employment and alongside scientific study has offered some people an alternative to hazardous mining work. Undetermined at this time.