It had been over a year since we last visited the Sanctuary of the Great Apes of Paraná, maintained by Anami Institute and affiliated to GAP Project. We took the holiday of May 30th to make this visit.

Those young chimpanzees, raised there since they were babies, have grown up and are strong and athletic individuals, who spend all day at work on the grounds of their huge enclosures: Johnny (Guga’s younger brother), Matthew, Luke,  Dinho and Vitoria are in action early. When they realized there are different people – in this case we – in the main house, which is a few feet from them, they are curious to know who they are. They know us well, both me and Vania. Chimpanzees have a precise memory and remember, no matter what the interval of time is, when they see people again.

Dinho is now more aggressive, despite being the youngest; he throws sand at whoever approaches. We try to convince him to stop with this attitude, so he calms down and begins to interact with us. In a year they all grew much. Chimpanzees created by us, in Sanctuaries, develop much more than those born and raised in circuses and zoos. Contributes to this: better food, a place to work out much larger and good mental health, which is infinitely better, since they are surrounded by humans who love them, and they love them back.

We got to know Bico, the last chimpanzee who arrived, a few months ago, from Lebanon. Bico is a little chimp, with approximate 12 years old, who is terrified of other chimpanzees. An attempt to merge him with a group of three females and one male had to be aborted when he panicked and began to develop an emotional gastritis that put his life in danger. He returned to his temporary enclosure and in a few days more will be transferred to a new enclosure, away from adult chimpanzees, when the sanctuary will try a new approach with a female to avoid loneliness. Bico is very playful, and interacts with all who care for him very positively. When we arrived, he welcomed us and asked us to open the door leading to the hallway outside, showing his communication ability.

Katai, a female orangutan, is fine; her physique and hair has improved, but she is still living outside and does not come into the room, no matter how cold it is. Her claustrophobia, developed in zoos where she used to be stuck for hours, remains intense. She gave us back on the grid to be friendly, but we were cautioned that she does not like men and vomit at them; so we were two meters away, as a precaution.

Young Carol, as beautiful as ever, still sleeps outside. She is another who developed an incurable claustrophobia in extinct Garcia Circus. The ex-smoker, Omega, is well. Strong and active, now accompanied by a female, he left behind the miserable life led in Lebanon, serving  water for Narguile in a local bar and then isolated and abandoned in a fifth category zoo.

The most important of all was that we got together with the owners of the Sanctuary – Anita and Milan Starostik, who are with excellent health and work daily in the care and feeding of their beloved chimps and dozens of other animals.

A clinic has now been installed especially for the chimpanzees, so the vets can make rapid laboratory tests, as well as minor surgeries. This clinic will be expanded so they won’t need to take any primate away of the Sanctuary for external treatment. Dr. Sandra Haluche, veterinary who has specialized in primates and visited many zoos and centers in Europe that deal with primates,  is implementing a routine to work especially directed at them, since they are so like us.

If the Sanctuary of Paraná was already a paradise, now it is more than ever. Electric fences have been modified to provide greater security while maintaining excellent visual, allowed only by these fences. Due to the cold winter, all bedrooms have central heating and a new super-quiet system is being deployed in the precincts, to improve the quality of life of those to whom family Starostik has dedicated its life.