At the request of Judge Alarcon Dario, of the city of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, a group of biologists, veterinarians and human doctors visited chimpanzee Monti in the last 48 hours to assess his situation and recommend or not his transfer to a sanctuary in Brazil.

The biologist, Dr. Ivana Rodriguez, from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, who also acts as Judicial Expert, sent to the Honorable Judge her extensive report and the conclusion.

In the final part, she states: “Chimpanzee Monti suffers the obvious consequences of prolonged detention for almost 45 years. He has developed several strategies for evasion, for reasons of survival in the prison context. He has signs of conditioned behavior due to the lack of contact with his peers, and adopts human being habits, such as consuming soft drinks and asking, with outstretched hands, to deliver food or objects of interest. As a PhD in Biological Sciences and after these observations, I recommend, as soon as possible, his urgent transfer to GAP Sorocaba Sanctuary,  in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in order to restore his physical and mental health (at least as far as is possible), to integrate him into a community of his own kind, so to achieve the biological, social and emotional development more related to their lives in nature. ”

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian

President, GAP Project International