In 2016, IUCN uplisted the western chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes verus, from “Endangered” to “Critically Endangered” (Humle et al. 2016), reflecting the subspecies’ increasingly dire conservation status. It occurs in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone, but has been extirpated in three countries – Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo. Of the four recognized chimpanzee subspecies, Pan troglodytes verus is under the greatest threat (Humle et al. 2016). The population is estimated to have declined by 80% between 1990 and 2014, to approximately 52,800 individuals (Kühl et al. 2017; Heinicke et al. 2019). The four chimpanzee subspecies have experienced an overall range reduction of 20% in just eight years, and much of this contraction can be linked to habitat loss, poaching and disease.