Solidarity is a quality that every day more scarce in the human race, but among non-human primates it is a characteristic that marks the species. It is very common to see chimpanzees trying to heal the wounds or bruises on the other after fights, forgetting quickly the animosity.

The relationship between human and non-human primates also stands out. Chimpanzees in the Sanctuary are concerned very much with us, with our health and appearance. When we are injured, they call us to try to cure it, especially with their saliva, which they think is a miraculous medicine. There were cases of chimpanzees who showed me the wound of a companion for me to heal it. They know that we have much more effective medicines than their saliva to heal wounds, since everyone has already experienced.

Days ago, I was bitten by several bees or wasps in one arm, I cannot say exactly where, since the pain did not allow me to observe anything. I was picking guavas – this time they fill dozens of trees of this wild fruit that today span the Sanctuary. My arm swelled and the bites were evident. The next day I showed it to Noel, the second chimpanzee of the Sanctuary, after Guga. He was impressed and did not know what to do except put saliva in the bites.

Noel lives alone, he is our “engineer”; he opens holes in the blocks to make stairs to escape and, when in a group, all run out with him. Due to this ability and his dominant spirit that had already brought problems in the group he used to be in, we decided to separate him until we find a companion for him.

Noel has come along with Samantha, from the breeding centre of Morrete, in Parana, with the mission of be a partner of Guga, who was the first chimpanzee of the Sanctuary. Noel is son of Gilbert and Margaret. Both are in the Sanctuary, unaware that he is their son, along with Noel’s brother, Emilio. They live a few hundred meters away. Both were separated from their parents when were newborns.

I enter Noel’s enclosure every Sunday and spend an hour with him. A week after the accident with the bees, I returned to enter the enclosure and the first thing he did was look for my arm, first the left, since he could not remember where the wounds were, and then the right, thae one that was bitten. He saw that the wounds were already disappearing and was relieved of his concern for all these days, perhaps thinking I was going to end up losing the arm.

This small example shows how deep is the relationship between humans and non-humans who have a relationship of love and affection.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian

President, GAP Project International

Images of guavas and Noel’s enclosure at Great Primates Sanctuary of Sorocaba – SP (Brazil)