His skeleton is exposed as a trophy. It is the only thing left of a pyrrhic victory of a group of human beings, who perhaps should not be elevated to this category as they haves left behind a lot of dead innocents, explored in their tragic lives.

The history of Alemão, the chimpanzee who lived at the zoo in the city of Americana, country side of São Paulo state, on a tiny island for more than 15 years, isolated from their equals, intersects with the history of struggle against the exploitation of great apes in zoos and circuses in the country and in the world.

Alemão has not had the same luck of more than 80 great apes who are now living in sanctuaries in Brazil, and were plucked one by one from the clutches – one cannot speak otherwise – of those who refused to stop profiting from animal exploitation, circuses disguised as diffusers of popular culture and in zoos, disguised as diffusers of environmental education.

Alemão was discovered by us, GAP Project, and biologist Luiz Padulla, almost at the same time. That being joined efforts of both of us, and it joined other people and organizations, aiming to end the suffering that he was suffering.

Facing us and the future of Alemão, an alliance was launched, formed by what there is of most backward in society, people who ignore the values and ethics of their professions, veterinarians, biologists, lawyers. Unfortunately, with a macabre success, these people were able to  prevent this chimp to become an icon, like others who were saved, to reinforce the struggle of millions of people for the protection of great apes and animals in general.

Alemão’s story is now written in black and white, by a person who knew him as an intern at the zoo and defended, during he was alive and even after death, that he should not be converted into a ignored skeleton in a fifth category museum.

“ALEMÃO: TRUTHS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SAID,” by Luiz Fernando Leal Padulla, is a biologist’s tribute to his brother chimpanzee, and tells the obsessive story of his struggle to save him, as well as dozens of other large primates that succumbed against human greed and vanity. The history of Alemão narrated by Padulla is, for many, unbelievable, but it is real, we suffer with him, as long as we also were the targets to be destroyed.

To all those who are interested in the saga that is the fight for Animal Rights, we recommend this book. There you may know who is who in this fight that never ends.

ALEMÃO: TRUTHS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SAID, by Luiz Fernando Leal Padulla, Virtual Books Publishing, July 2012. E-mail: vbooks01@terra.com.br. Phone:  +55 (37) 3231-6653. Brazil

E-mail of the author – Luiz Fernando Leal Padulla: gapluiz@gmail.com