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Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba
São Paulo, Brazil
It is the pioneer and the largest Great Apes Sanctuaries among the four affiliated to the GAP Project. It is also the largest Sanctuary of great apes in Latin America. It was founded in 2000 by businessman Pedro Ynterian, who maintains it to this day.
It currently houses around 250 animals, 45 of which are chimpanzees and other small primates, birds, big cats and bears. The Sanctuary has an area of five hectares and 63 enclosures for chimpanzees – some with 1000m2, divided into 14 complexes. The facilities are prepared to expand and receive other animals that are rescued from mistreatment situations.
The sanctuary’s permanent team has two veterinarians and 20 caretakers, who accompany the daily lives of chimpanzees and other animals and develop environmental enrichment activities, always aiming at improving the quality of life in the captive environment.
Most of the chimpanzees at the Sanctuary of Sorocaba carry some history of abuse by humans, being observed as physical and/or psychological traumas marked for the rest of their lives.
In circuses, they were exploited in the form of slave labor in which they were physically attacked, castrated and had their teeth extracted in a totally archaic way. These conditions meant that they were kept subjugated, so that they could be used in presentations to the public.
Life in a zoo causes serious psychological trauma in great apes, caused by loneliness (not seeing, hearing, living with another of their kind), by confinement in an extremely restricted territory (the legislation that determines the size of the enclosure is obsolete in terms of respect to the size that offers real well-being to chimpanzees) and by the stress of intense exposure and harassment from the public.
The chimpanzees who arrive at Sorocaba Sanctuary show positive behavioral changes in a short time, as they become part of a large community of their own species and are cared for with great respect and dedication by the dedicated employees. In the Sanctuary, each chimpanzee is an individual being with its intrinsic characteristics and personalities. For us, chimpanzees kept in human care must have, at the very least, freedom of choice about when they will feed, in which part of the enclosure they want to stay, see/hear others of their species, where they want to sleep… And also be part of a community of their own kind, so that they reach a level of real and adequate wellfare, which we believe to be something close to happiness itself.
Gallery of Images and Videos
Sanctuary Residents
in memoriam
He lived and worked at Circo Vitória for 20 years, where he performed physical exercises and had all his teeth pulled out.
Date of birth: 1986Origin: Vitória Circus
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Despite his temper, Billy is affectionate and very playful. He is very intelligent and extremely humanized.
Date of birth: 07/10/1994Origin: Kroner Circus
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Billy Jr is known for his exceptional vocalizations, in which he sounds like a person shouting or a gorilla.
Date of birth: 02/22/2003Origin: Brasília Zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
He spent a brief period at the Sanctuary in 2004 and was transferred back by Judicial determination in 2019, after living alone for 8 years in the zoo.
Date of birth: 1970Origin: Sorocaba zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
He was rescued from a traveling circus in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and transferred to the Sanctuary in 2011. He had no teeth and arrived with a chain around his neck.
Date of birth: 1975Origin: Circus in MInas Gerais, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She lived at Garcia Circus for 15 years confined to a small cage, which had to be cut open on her rescue.
Date of birth: 09/05/1988Origin: Garcia Circus
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
During his life the zoo, he had serious psychiatric disorders and would severely self-mutilate.
Date of birth: 1986Origin: Sorocaba zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Due to the suffering endured while working in the circus, he does not like to stay indoors.
Date of birth: 04/24/1995Origin: Garcia Circus
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He was one of the chimpanzees rescued as a baby from an old commercial chimpanzee breeding center in southern Brazil.
Date of birth: 02/02/2000Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
She was rejected by her mother, who attacked her when she was born and needed veterinary care to recover.
Date of birth: 04/04/2002Origin: Brasilia Zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
She was one of the last chimpanzees to work in circuses in Brazil.
Date of birth: 1971Origin: Circo Koslov
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She is very smart and active and lives with chimpanzee Rakker.
Date of birth: 06/23/2012Origin: Santuário de Grandes Primatas de Sorocaba
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Her story became a milestone in the history of animal rights, as she was the first chimpanzee in the world to be released from a zoo and transferred to the Sanctuary through a Habeas Corpus.
Date of birth: 1997Origin: Mendoza Zoo, Argentina
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He is very active, dominant and enjoys being the center of family attention.
Date of birth: 12/10/2013Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Claudio was one of the chimpanzees born in an old commercial breeding facility that operated in the southern of Brazil.
Date of birth: 2000Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She was one of the female chimpanzees used for breeding at the Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Facility, which existed in southern Brazil.
Date of birth: 1985Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She lived her childhood in the Circo di Napoli (Naples Circus). Due to a legal turnaround, she was sent to the Beto Carrero Zoo, and in 2005 she was finally transferred to the Sanctuary.
Date of birth: 1996Origin: Beto Carrero World Zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He was one of the chimpanzees born in a former commercial breeding facility rescued as a baby and transferred to the Sanctuary.
Date of birth: 05/24/2000Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
Samanta's father. He lived for a brief period in the Sanctuary.
Date of birth: unkownOrigin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Francis is one of the international residents of the Sanctuary and one of the oldest female. She was captured as a baby in Africa.
Date of birth: 1968Origin: Vesty Pakos Zoo (Bolivia)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
She was one of the chimpanzees born in the commercial breeding facility that existed in Brazil.
Date of birth: 1994Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He was used as a breeding male in a former commercial center that operated in the south of Brazil.
Date of birth: 1985Origin: Marco Schwartz Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
Male chimpanzee Guga was born in a commercial breeding facility in Paraná, southern Brazil, in 1999. The place used to reproduce chimpanzees to sell to circuses and zoos. At the age of three months old, he was “adopted” by the businessman Pedro Ynterian, who in a short time realized that the chimpanzee was not a pet.
Date of birth: 1999Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She was exploited in a circus, where all her teeth were removed, and later in a hotel, where she "worked entertaining the guests" and used to walk with a chain around her neck.
Date of birth: 1981Origin: Boa Luz Resort Hotel (Sergipe, Northeast Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
He lived most of his life in a circus, where he was castrated and had all his teeth removed.
Date of birth: 1986Origin: Circo di França
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He arrived at the sanctuary in 2008, along with his companion Tyson, when IBAMA (Brazilian Environmental Institute) confiscated all animals from Le Cirque Circus, in Brasília.
Date of birth: 1990Origin: Le Cirque Circus
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He lived alone for more than 10 years in a tiny enclosure in a zoo and arrived at the Sanctuary in 2011, after a rescue operation carried out by Ibama (Brazilian Environment Institute).
Date of birth: 1992Origin: Niterói zoo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
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 Sanctuary in 2005.
Date of birth: 1989Origin: Curitiba Zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She belonged to a circus in Northeast Brazil, which went bankrupt and sold her to an animal trader.
Date of birth: 1990Origin: Piracicaba Zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Since birth, she has lived in a group with her family.
Date of birth: 05/06/2003Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
He was taken from his mother a few days after his birth and sold to a circus.
Date of birth: 1994Origin: Goiania Zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
She was used for breeding at the Marco Schwartz Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil).
Date of birth: 1984Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He enjoys making nests by cutting the blanket into several pieces and observing the movement of other chimpanzees through the basket at the top of the platform.
Date of birth: 03/27/2007Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
During her childhood, she worked in a circus and had all her teeth pulled out. Later, she was taken to a commercial chimpanzee breeding facility, where she was used as a "breeder".
Date of birth: 1972Origin: Chimpanzee Breeding Marco Schwartz (PR)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She arrived at the Sanctuary in 2014, very thin and sad, along with her companions, Jamaica and Martin.
Date of birth: 1983Origin: Boa Luz Resort Hotel (Sergipe, Northeast Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He arrived at the Sanctuary in 2004, coming from the former Circus Garcia. He has an easy relationship with humans and with other chimpanzees.
Date of birth: 1996Origin: Circus Garcia
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He arrived at the Sanctuary in 2014, along with the chimpanzees Maria das Dores and Jamaica, with whom he lived in a precarious zoo.
Date of birth: 1985Origin: Boa Luz Resort Hotel (Sergipe, Northeast Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He is very similar to his brother Marcelino, both physically and in personality.
Date of birth: 10/09/2010Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, SP, Brazil.
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He has his peculiar way of observing everything and everyone - he raises his head and looks "from above”.
Date of birth: 09/07/2015Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She is a large and dominant female with a strong personality. She has a habit of walking upright, especially to show her size and intimidate others.
Date of birth: 1995Origin: Kroner Circus
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He is known as the “engineer", because he is very intelligent in everything he does. Noel arrived at the Sanctuary in 2000, along with Samanta.
Date of birth: 12/20/1998Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He is very clever and likes to imitate his father. Pedrinho is always walking behind him and observing everything he does.
Date of birth: 01/08/2008Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He arrived at the Sanctuary in 2007. Peter had been living in a zoo in Fortaleza, northeast of Brazil, where he suffered a lot, especially after the zoo closed and fell into a precarious situation.
Date of birth: 1985Origin: Paraíso Perdido zoo (northeast Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
When very young, Rakker was not well accepted in the group of chimpanzees in the zoo where he lived and was attacked several times, suffering serious injuries.
Date of birth: 06/29/1991Origin: Artis Zoo in Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She was one of the founders of the Sanctuary, arriving in the year 2000 along with chimpanzee Noel.
Date of birth: 02/14/1999Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She has a physical appearance very similar to her aunt, Carolina, as well as her personality; even her mannerisms resemble her aunt's.
Date of birth: 05/22/2010Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
He arrived at the Sanctuary in 2004, along with his partner Rakker. Both came from a zoo in the Netherlands.
Date of birth: 02/08/1990Origin: Artis zoo Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Sofia is the troublemaker of the family, always stirring up daily life and provoking her siblings.
Date of birth: 04/28/2009Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She is very energetic and likes to play with all family members.
Date of birth: 11/20/2014Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She is the closest to her adoptive father, Jimmy, but interacts and gets along well with everyone in the group.
Date of birth: 06/10/2011Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
She arrived at the sanctuary in 2007, very weak but pregnant, and managed to give birth to a healthy baby, chimpanzee Marcelino.
Date of birth: 1990Origin: Paraíso Perdido zoo (northeast Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
He arrived at the Sanctuary in 2008, when Ibama (Brazilian Environmental Institute) confiscated all the animals from Le Cirque Circus, in Brasília.
Date of birth: 1990Origin: Circo Le Cirque
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
in memoriam
He arrived at the Sanctuary with a physical handicap, which was never officially explained.
Date of birth: 1997Origin: Marco Schwartz Commercial Chimpanzee Breeding Center (south of Brazil)/Circus
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She is very active and smart and plays with everyone in her family, especially with her father, Gilberto.
Date of birth: 03/14/2017Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, Brazil
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
The GAP Project
GAP is an international movement whose main objective is to fight for the basic rights to life, liberty and non-torture of non-human great apes - Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Orangutans and Bonobos, our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.
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