He was born at Bauru Zoo in São Paulo, Brazil, and ended up being rejected by his mother. That’s why he was transferred to Brasilia Zoo, which negotiated his transfer to the Sanctuary in 2003, when he was just 6 months old. 

The idea was that he would be cared for together with his older sister, Carolina, who was also rejected by her mother. Billy Jr. is very playful, affectionate, intelligent and gets on very well with other chimpanzees. He has the personality of an eternal child, always wanting to play and throwing tantrums when contradicted. 

Billy Jr is known for his exceptional vocalizations, in which he sounds like a person shouting or a gorilla beating his chest to attract attention.