Born in 1989, it is known that he lived with a family in São Paulo, Brazil, being raised as a pet, before being sent to the Curitiba zoo.

From the zoo, he was transferred to the Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2005. He arrived missing two fingers from his right hand, and there is no knowledge of how he lost them, nor are there further details about what exactly happened in his past.

But the good news is that, despite everything, Johnny is a cheerful, affectionate, active, and very smart chimpanzee, enjoying a much better life than he had in his early years.

Johnny loves to hang out on the platform in his enclosure, where he makes nests to sleep on with various blankets to make himself comfortable. He also loves drinking water straight from the hose or from bottles and grooming with his caretakers.