A dream comes true

Dr. Selma Mandruca is president of GAP Project Brazil. She is also the owner of a GAP affiliated sanctuary for chimpanzees and other primates and birds in the countryside of São Paulo state. Selma gave birth to her first child, Sofia, three months ago and she is breast feeding her. For years Selma only had chimpanzee sons, among them Serginho, who is very human and was raised like a baby, and Ana, Camila, Nino and Judy.

Suzi, a three-month baby and the third daughter of Samantha and Guga, was born at Sorocaba sanctuary, but has been raised by humans, as long as her mother did not know how to feed her.

Suzi and Selma had never met, but yesterday Selma went to the sanctuary to meet her.

It was time for Suzi to be fed and Selma had just breast fed Sofia – who is almost the same age as Suzi. Selma took Suzi, but she was not comfortable with that unknown person. Then Selma took some milk with her fingers from one of her breasts and put it kindly on Suzi’s mouth, who enjoyed the genuine mammal milk, different from the artificial that she drinks everyday. And Suzi liked it very much.

Selma was a little bit anxious, as long as Sofia, who does not have teeth yet, already causes some pain; how would it be with Suzi, who has sharp little teeth yetω What Suzi would do when she felt the taste of human milkω The reaction was magical, surprisingly, fantastic… She started to suck just like she knew those breasts for weeks. She drank the milk continuously for five minutes, pressing the breast kindly with her small hands, until she was tired. Selma was crying at the same time Suzi sucked with pleasure that natural milk, that her mother was never able to offer her. A dream was coming true to Selma: breastfeeding a baby chimpanzee and her human baby in the same day. Coincidences had already indicated that this would be the result: Selma and Samantha got pregnant and had their babies with a few days of difference. Nature was willing to make that dream come true to a human mother that loves deeply her chimpanzee’s babies.

Congratulations, Selma. Now you are two times mother. The next step will be showing to Samantha how it is to breastfeed a baby when Selma does it in front of her. Maybe she will learn and can assume entirely maternity with her next baby.

Dr. Pedro A Ynterian

President, GAP Project International