Chimpanzees normally resent humans, but scientists in the park have spent decades "habituating" them so they could be studied. Two years ago, a Disney film got up close for the Tim Allen-narrated Chimpanzee, which was set in Tai park.
Now, conservationists and the Ivorian government hope to take advantage of the fact that chimps in Tai park are relatively comfortable around humans by launching eco-tourism projects designed to stem the chimpanzee population's precipitous decline.