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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kind), by confinement in an extremely restricted territory (the legislation that determines the size of the enclosure is obsolete in terms of respect to the size that offers real well-being to chimpanzees) and by the stress of intense exposure and harassment from the public.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
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
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: Santuário de Grandes Primatas de Sorocaba
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: Former commercial breeder (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 partner Tyson, when Ibama confiscated all the animals from Circo Le Cirque in Brasília. She lived together with Tyson in a precarious cart of tiny size in the middle of feces and leftover food.
Date of birth: 1990Origin:
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He lived alone for more than 10 years in a tiny enclosure at ZOONIT, in Niterói. Jimmy arrived at the sanctuary in 2011, after an arrest made by IBAMA for the removal of all animals due to the conditions of mistreatment the animals were being subjected to at the zoo.
Date of birth: 1992Origin: Zoonit (RJ)
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. Hiving no legal documentation, she ended up being sent to the Piracicaba zoo, which closed in 2002 and sent her to the Sanctuary.
Date of birth: 1990Origin: Piracicaba Zoo
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Daughter of Ditty and Gilberto. Since she was born, she has lived in a group with her family. She is a very strong and feisty female, just like her mother Ditty when she was younger. She takes good care of her daughter, Sol, and is always a part of the group's activities, teasing everyone to get what she wants.
Date of birth: 05/06/2003Origin: Sorocaba Great Ape Sanctuary.
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
Son of Peter and Táta, who arrived pregnant at the sanctuary. Miguel and Milan's older brother. He is extremely affectionate, sociable and playful. Marcelino likes to make nests by cutting the blanket into several pieces and watching the other chimpanzees move around in the basket on top of the house. He is very active, he is always attentive, but at the same time he is very calm.
Date of birth: 03/27/2007Origin: Sorocaba Great Ape Sanctuary.
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. She adapted quickly to the Sanctuary and soon recovered, getting along well with everyone.
Date of birth: 1983Origin: Hotel Fazenda Boa Luz (SE)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He arrived at the Sanctuary in 2004, coming from the former Circo Garcia. It is easy to get along with humans and, especially, with other chimpanzees. He is a strong and slender chimpanzee, very intelligent, curious, active and is always interested in the movement of the handlers around him.
Date of birth: 1996Origin: Circo Garcia
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He arrived at the Sanctuary in 2014 along with the chimpanzees Maria das Dores and Jamaica. She lived on a precarious and very small island with the two females and did not let the two feed, since the food was not enough for the three.
Date of birth: 1985Origin:
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He is very similar to his brother Marcelino, both physically and in his personality. He is a little more introspective than Marcelino, but very docile and sociable with the people and chimpanzees he trusts. After entering puberty, Miguel had to change groups, as he was facing his father. Cecilia who was also changing groups was the perfect companion for him. The two gradually got closer and today they are inseparable, they stay together all the time and adore each other. Even very well together, the two maintain their family ties since they can interact with their relatives who are in the enclosures close to them and thus provide well-being for all.
Date of birth: 10/09/2010Origin:
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Youngest son of Tata and Peter, brother of Marcelino and Miguel. Milan has his peculiar way of observing everything and everyone, he lifts his head and looks “over the top”.
Date of birth: 09/07/2015Origin: Sorocaba Great Ape Sanctuary
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She arrived at the Sanctuary in 2006, she is the sister of Carlos, Claudio and Vitor, but she never met them, as she was sold to the circus as a baby. She is a large, dominant female with a strong personality.
Date of birth: 1995Origin:
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Noel is very sociable, polite and loves to watch every movement of the cars, because from his enclosure he visualizes the garage and the movement of the employees. He is known as an “engineer” as he is very smart in everything he does. Like his brother, Emílio, when he is suspicious he has the same look as his mother, Margarete.
Date of birth: 12/20/1998Origin: Chimpanzee Breeding Center Marco Schwartz (south of Brazil)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He has a good relationship with everyone in his family, but he is already quite dominant, always trying to do what he wants and showing his strength to the females. He is very curious and active and is always attentive to the vocalization of other neighboring chimpanzees.
Date of birth: 01/08/2008Origin: Sorocaba Great Ape Sanctuary
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
He arrived at the Sanctuary in 2007. He lived in a zoo in Fortaleza, where he suffered a lot along with the chimpanzees Tata and Judy, as the zoo was closed and it was in a precarious situation, causing them to suffer from a lack of food and water. Lost Paradise Zoo (CE)
Date of birth: 1985Origin: Lost Paradise Zoo (CE)
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 he was attacked several times by some members of the group, suffering serious injuries. Still at the zoo, one of the chimpanzees who accepted Rakker was Simon (Sam), who became his faithful companion and went to the Sanctuary with him in 2004.
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. Sara's particularity is in the way she looks at others, she lifts her head and grimaces when she's watching thoughtfully.
Date of birth: 05/22/2010Origin: Sorocaba Great Ape Sanctuary
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 de Amsterdã (Holanda)
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She is the daughter of Samanta and Guga. At first, she was not cared for by her mother and had to be cared for by humans, but later she was reintegrated into the group and today she lives very well with her mother and siblings. Sofia is the troublemaker of the family, always stirring up everyday life and teasing her brothers.
Date of birth: 04/28/2009Origin: Sorocaba Great Ape Sanctuary
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
She is Luiza's daughter. She is very active and likes to play with all the family members. She is cheerful, spunky and curious and is always looking for a joke. She really likes to play with Yasmin and they are always up to no good.
Date of birth: 11/20/2014Origin: Sorocaba Great Ape Sanctuary
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
Female Suzi is docile, jealous and sometimes suspicious. She is also very close to her adoptive father, Jimmy, but interacts and gets along well with everyone in the group.
Date of birth: 06/10/2011Origin: Sorocaba Great Ape Sanctuary
Sanctuary: Sorocaba, São Paulo/Brazil
It arrived at the Sanctuary in 2008, when Ibama confiscated all the animals from Circo Le Cirque in Brasília. She lived together with Jeber in a precarious cart of tiny size in the middle of feces and leftover food.
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 the youngest of the Sanctuary. She is very active and smart. She plays with everyone in her family, especially with her father, Gilberto. She is always close to the chimpanzee Sol, interacting and learning from her.
Date of birth: 03/14/2017Origin: Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba
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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