Gaspard Julien-laferrière

As far as he could remember, Gaspard has always loved wildlife and animals in general and wanted to work in conservation.

After a few years in the movie industry as an assistant director, he decided to take a few months break as a volunteer in the Chimpanzees Conservation Center in Guinea in 2014. He didn’t know how much this experience would change him.

Living in the bush and taking care of chimpanzees was a thrilling experience that made him realize the threat and the large scale of wildlife trafficking. Devastated by the health of some of the rescued animals, and the tragic fate of others he bounded with, he decided to fight the traffickers responsible of such situations. It is at this moment he heard of the work of the EAGLE Network, who brought many chimpanzees he took care of while he was working in the Chimpanzee Conservation Center.

Volunteering for 10 months, he then became the Manager of the release site of the sanctuary for 2 years.

After leaving Guinea in 2018, Gaspard wrote directly to Ofir Drori to join the Network. He went through an intensive training and was sent in the project in Côte d’Ivoire in 2019 to assist the Coordinator, Rens Ilgen. After 2 years in Côte d’Ivoire, he became the new Coordinator.

Finally, what was supposed to be a 6 month break is still an ongoing journey, full of challenges, difficult moments and amazing experiences.