Pan-African Sanctuaries Alliance – PASA – launched the initiative of raising funds in order to give home for more than 130 primates that are waiting for vacancy at African sanctuaries.
A donator offered PASA to double the maximum of USD 25 thousand to the value the organization raised from society. This would allow to open new enclosures at African sanctuaries that could host those who wait for a home.
Europe: GAP Spain denounces the killing of 12 baboons at the Nuremberg zoo and demands an end to captive breeding
Last week, the press and various social media channels reported the decision of the German zoo to euthanize 12 baboons due to a lack of space to keep them. GAP Spain reinforces the denunciation and the absurdity of the situation.
Facial touch contributes to the social development of human and chimpanzee infants
Recent article published in the scientific journal Animal Cognition documented facial touches of human and chimpanzee babies on other individuals. Different groups were observed to verify the importance of social touch in offsprings' development.
Bonobos use a kind of syntax once thought to be unique to humans
The way bonobos combine vocal sounds to create new meanings suggests the evolutionary building blocks of human language are shared with our closest relatives. “It’s the first time in any animal species that there is an unambiguous evidence for non-trivial syntax, non-trivial compositionality, and so that changes the game,” says researcher Maël Leroux.
Chimpanzee Yoko travels from Colombia and arrives at his new home, the Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, SP, Brazil
After months of documentation procedures and two days of travel, Yoko, a 38-year-old chimpanzee, finally arrives in Brazil on Monday, March 24, 2025. He will be a new resident of the Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil, affiliated with the GAP Project. Yoko was the last remaining chimpanzee at Bioparque Ukumari in Pereira,…
Africa: DRC government directive triggers panic in ape sanctuaries amid ongoing conflict
The Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center began 2025 with concern and uncertainty. Amidst the violent conflicts plaguing the country, a government request to transfer chimpanzees from the Sanctuary to the capital's zoo in Kinshasa has sparked a crisis and raised suspicions, potentially putting the animals at serious risk.
In June of this year, the team at the Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba evaluated the possibility of interaction between Cecília (Argentina) and Rakker, and the experience has been successful. The two have been living together in harmony since then.
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.
The quarantine of the chimpanzee Yoko has been completed, and the team anticipates challenges in his integration with other chimpanzees due to his highly humanized profile. Despite this, the Sanctuary is very pleased and optimistic about his excellent adaptation.
He arrived at the Sanctuary after an unprecedented operation involving several organizations that mobilized to make his transfer possible. Yoko was the last remaining captive chimpanzee in Colombia.
Yoko has passed the halfway mark of his quarantine and the main expectation revolves around how he will react when given the opportunity to interact with another chimpanzee at close range.
He arrived at the Sanctuary after an unprecedented operation involving several organizations that mobilized to make his transfer possible. Yoko was the last remaining captive chimpanzee in Colombia.