When she died, in the end of September, the chief of the seven human villages located around the sanctuary decide to pay homage to her. With no idea of how it would be the reaction of the chimpanzees, the human neighbors went to the sanctuary in parade, although they were not invited.

The sanctuary decided to bury Dorothy in the same place where her friend Becky already was resting. The body crossed the sanctuary, as the chimpanzees desired. They observed with sadness and crying, and a suffering pain dominated them.

This scene, already witnessed by us at Sorocaba Sanctuary in a smaller dimension, did not let us surprised. Chimpanzees know what death is and are afraid of it, like us humans. One year ago, when Lulu died unexpectedly, after two days of agony, her partners of enclosure were already waiting for the worse. I asked that her body stayed a few minutes in front of her partner, Gilberto, her friends Ditty and Margarethe and the young Luiza. I will never forget how Margarethe yelled in despair when we showed her Lulu’s body. Gilberto get very nervous, maybe his way of expressing his anger with a nonsense death. And Ditty ran far away, so she would not see her long term friend in that state.

We remember Gil’s death, Jango’s partner. We found her dead after a powerful heart attack on the top of her platform. Jango cried as a child and was desperate when the keepers brought down her young and strong body.

We also remember how Emilio reacted with Chuca. He did not know her, as long she never lived in the sanctuary. She is buried there because Ibama supported our request and donated us her body. She lived all her life in circus and was shot to death by an unprepared police officer, who did not understand her love gesture when she ran away from the house she used to live. We showed her body to the youngest chimpanzees at that time and Emilio emitted a sound of sadness. We took Guga to see her and he tried to wake her up, until he realized she would not come back to this world.

For those who still have doubts about the humanity of chimpanzees, the photo taken at Sanaga-Yong by the amateur photographer Mônica Szcsupider and published at PASA’s bulletim talks for itself. Chimpanzees feel, dream, plan, love, fear, hate and know that one day death will call them for a trip that everyone – humans and chimpanzees – still do not know where ends.

Dr. Pedro A Ynterian
President, GAP Project International