THE SMOKING CHIMP

Last December 14 the quarantine of chimpanzee Omega, known worldwide for being a smoker, came to an end. He arrived at the Sanctuary managed by Anami Institute, in Paraná – one of the sanctuaries affiliated to GAP Project – one month ago from Lebanon, where he lived for years in a small zoo after having worked as a “waiter” in a countryside small restaurant.

Omega received anesthetics and was taken to a vet hospital of PUC University, in Curitiba, so he could be better examined. A tooth in very bad condition was pulled out and there was discovered rests of gunpowder (airsoft pellets) all over his body, which indicates that in a certain moment he had been shot with airsoft guns. All the area affected is already recovered and free of risks. The x-rays of the lungs were normal.

Hours later, Omega came back to the sanctuary, where he was located in a new enclosure and will be put near another young chimpanzee – who had arrived a few months before at the sanctuary -, before they live together.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
President, GAP Project International