See you, Mack ... - GAP Project

See you, Mack …

posted in 25 Aug 2010

“WE GO SI BACK” MACK …

Last August 22 would be normal day for Mack. After lunch he came back to his island in company with his family. In this afternoon Mack laid down under a palm tree and did not awake.

Mack, who came from Sierra Leone, West Africa, was 46 years old. If he had died in his country, his human friends would have told him, after his eternal dream,“we go si back”, which in the local language means “goodbye” or “see you”.

When He was still a teenager, Mack was sold by hunters to Delta Regional Primate Research Center (which now is called Tulane National Primate Research Center), in Covington, LA, United States. He had been kept there for 14 years. The use they had made of him is a mystery, but surely was nothing good. In 1981 he was sold to Coulston Foundation Medical Torture Center, in New Mexico. There he was used to reproduce and week by week he used to be put with different partners, in order that they generate babies, who then would be sold in an endless system. North-American capitalist system was destroying lives in the name of profit. He had never be allowed to create a family, but he was the father of 28 chimpanzees.

In 1990 his situation got worse. The foundation used his body to “test new material”. He used to be anesthetic for several days, hardly eating, so they could evaluate his reactions. In the last study he had been under anesthetics for two days, 12 hours each day, and received a total of 94ml of anesthetic Ketamina, in order to be asleep.

When Dr. Carole Noon bought the facilities and the 265 primates of the broke Coulston Foundation, she found Mack abandoned in a dungeon. In spite of never had the chance to spend time with other chimpanzees for a long time, he easily became friends with others and in 2006 was transferred to his island at Save the Chimps Sanctuary, in Fort Pierce, Florida, together with his sons Brandon, Patrick, Hailey and Jasmine.

Mack was small for a male chimpanzee. But his personality and maybe, his spirit inspired that some who were stronger and taller respect him. In the last four years of his life, Mack lived in paradise and gone to the stars unexpectedly.

Mack is another symbol of the fight of our brothers’ primates for a place in this unfair and cruel world, which someday will recognize the importance of these extraordinary beings in the construction of humanity.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
President, GAP Project International

Support the biggest chimpanzee sanctuary of the world:

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News - More News

posted in 30 Oct 2024

Spain seeks ground-breaking law for great apes

A chimpanzee is pictured at the Pridadomus recovering centre, founded by Dutch association AAP, in Villena, near Alicante. (Jose Jordan / AFP)

For decades Achille, 50, lived alone in wretched conditions in a cramped circus cage. But better days could lie ahead for the chimpanzee and almost 150 great apes in Spain, who stand to benefit from a pioneering bill that would strengthen laws safeguarding their well-being.

posted in 12 Sep 2024

Demand Sanctuary for Alamogordo Chimps

26 chimpanzees remain imprisoned at the Alamogordo Primate Facility, where they endured years of cruel experimentation. Though the National Institutes of Health ended invasive research on chimps almost a decade ago, these survivors have yet to experience the peace and sanctuary they deserve.

posted in 13 Aug 2024

Chimpanzees converse like humans, new study finds

The study, which is the result of analyzing conversations of various groups of chimpanzees in the wild in Africa for over 15 years, confirms that our evolutionary relatives also engage in rapid turn-taking in their conversations, mainly involving gestures.

posted in 31 Jul 2024

Peter Singer announces support for the Great Apes Law in Spain

Philosopher Peter Singer, one of the founders of the Great Ape Project, announced his support for the Law. "The Great Ape Project Spain has been working for many years to improve the legal situation of great apes in Spain, and is supporting this legislation as the best achievable."

posted in 08 Jul 2024

Africa: Snare removal program supports chimpanzee conservation

Chimpanzees injured in snares (ASU News - Kevin Langergraber/Kevin Lee)

Wild chimpanzees are caught in snares set for other animals and can be seriously injured, compromising their survival and behavior and posing a threat. A study shows how important the removal of snares is for their conservation.

Residents' Stories

posted in 24 Apr 2024

Katai and Sansão: orangutans in captivity in Brazil

Female orangutan Katai is the only resident of the species in a sanctuary in Brazil. Sansão lives alone in the São Paulo zoo for years. A lawsuit requests Sansão to be transferred to the sanctuary, aiming to improve both orangutan’s…

Katai

Orangutan

Meet the beautiful Katai! The female orangutan was born in 1985 in a German zoo and is a Sumatra/Borneo hybrid. Since 2010, she has been one of the residents of the Anami Institute's Great Apes Sanctuary, in Paraná.

Date of birth: 02/07/1985
Origin: Germany
Sanctuary: São José dos Pinhais, Paraná/Brazil

posted in 03 Apr 2024

Children snatched away by the circus

Throughout her life in the circus, Lucy gave birth to several children, but had no chance of becoming a mother. The babies were snatched from her on the day they were born, probably to be sold.

Lucy

Chimpanzee

Lucy is a docile female and very zealous with her children. During her life in the circus, she had several puppies, but no opportunity to raise them, as they were taken from her the same day they were born. With her arrival at Anami, this reality changed. Lucy can raise Noel, her youngest son.

Date of birth: 1981
Origin: Circus
Sanctuary: São José dos Pinhais, Paraná/Brazil

posted in 29 Nov 2023

In memory of Johny - 05/20/2000 - 11/29/2014

"Johny was the beginning of everything, of a struggle that will never die." The Starostik couple took care of a baby chimp rejected at birth in a zoo and created a suitable place for welfare in captivity.

in memoriam

Johny