After more than a year of importation bureaucracy procedures, a couple of chimpanzees that lived in bad conditions, in a small cage, in a private zoo in Israel arrived in Brazil. In the evening of last Thursday, October 15^th, the male Mizrachi, 24 years old, and the female Katty, 35, arrived at GAP Project Paraná Sanctuary, in the south of the country, where they will have the chance to share day-by-day life with other chimpanzees in an adequate environment and with all the care and treatment necessary.

About two years ago GAP Project was contacted by an Israeli foundation that works with primates (Israeli Primate Sanctuary Foundation) and had found the case of the two chimpanzees in the zoo. The choice for Paraná Sanctuary was because it has a quarantine enclosure already approved by national authorities to host the chimpanzees for 30 days, before they move to their definitive enclosure. This is a requirement of Brazilian Agriculture Ministry to the importation of primates.

“The purpose of GAP is to protect great primates wherever they are. In fact there is a lack of appropriated places in the world to host chimpanzees, good sanctuaries to maintain great primates. When we received a demand of this kind and are able to make it possible, we host the chimpanzees. The sanctuaries affiliated to GAP have this commitment too and both the project and Brazilian authorities understand that the country can offer this international collaboration”, explains Pedro A. Ynterian, President of GAP International.

Apart from these two Israeli chimpanzees, GAP Project sanctuaries hosts primates who came from Portugal, Bolivia, Netherlands and Belgium.

"The request for GAP to receive the chimpanzees who were in bad conditions in Israel came to us in April 2008. From this date we started all the bureaucracy procedures demanded and finally, today, around 9pm, we managed to put them in the quarantine enclosure. Already in the airport they surprised us. After a more than 16 hour-flight and a lot more hours waiting in the cages to board from São Paulo to Paraná, they were starving and thirsty. For this reason we tried our best to get authorization to treat them as soon as they arrived.

We decided to give juice with a straw through the ventilation holes of the cages white the tools to open them had not arrived. But quickly the female pulled and destroyed the straw. We tried one more time and again the straw was pulled inside. We showed her with gestures that without the straw it would be impossible to give her the juice. Then, surprisingly, she threw the straw back so we could get and at this time she drank the juice without pulling the straw.

As soon as they got out the transportation cages and entered the enclosure, they yelled, maybe they are finding the new place strange. But after a few minutes they started to walk around, climbing all the area, exploring the space and getting happy with what they were seeing. It did not take long for them to start to smile, playing together and even making nests with the blankets. We left the quarantine area so they could rest, certain that this would be the first night of a happy life, full of care and love, away of the exploitation they were submitted to.

I would like to thank Adelina, who is always giving her support in the difficult times, the veterinarian Paulo Vinicius Bastiane, who knew to take firm decision in a delicate moment, the support of Infarero’s employee Mr. Felipe and Mrs. Marta, from agricultural inspection. And yet all the people who, in one way or the other, cooperated to make one more rescue possible.”

Selma Mandruca, President of GAP Project Brazil, on October 15th 2009