News

A mysterious disease is killing chimps in West Africa. Scientists may now know the culprit - February 26, 2021

By Ann Gibbons (Science magazine) Disease ecologist Tony Goldberg was stunned in 2016 when he learned that a mysterious infection was swiftly killing chimpanzees at a lush sanctuary in Sierra Leone’s rainforest. “It was not subtle—the chimpanzees would stagger and stumble, vomit, and have diarrhea,” recalls Goldberg of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “Sometimes they’d […]

World Bonobo Day, the most peaceful great ape and also in danger - February 17, 2021

By Jaqueline B. Ramos* Today is World Bonobo Day and also Valentine’s Day (Valentine’s Day) in many countries. The date could not be more appropriate to celebrate this species of great ape whose trademark is its behavior, in general, more sweet and peaceful. Bonobos are the “less famous”great apes. Also known as pygmy chimpanzee, due […]

Chimpanzee Martín dies at Buenos Aires zoo - February 10, 2021

Today, GAP Project Brazil was informed about the death of the chimpanzee Martin, who lived in the Buenos Aires Zoo, currently converted into an ecopark. In 2017, NGO AFADA (Association of Employees and Lawyers for the Rights of Animals) filed a request for Habeas Corpus in court to transfer him, his partner, Sasha, and his […]

RIP – Black: 1970-2021 - February 7, 2021

Sorocaba, February 7, 2021 With great sadness, the Sanctuary of Great Primates of Sorocaba, affiliated with the GAP Project, informs that the chimpanzee Black died yesterday, 02/06, at 21:02, due to cardiac arrest. On Thursday, February 4, Black showed lameness and mild apathy. He was then medicated and anesthesia was being planned for a complete […]

Africa: Far from COVID lockdowns bringing a lull to sanctuaries, even more primates need our help - January 27, 2021

From PASA – Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance The pandemic is exacerbating the complex causes driving the cruel illegal wildlife trade. Poaching and selling monkeys and apes is a rampant international problem. PASA members are working around the clock to arrest smugglers, bring confiscated primates to sanctuaries, and stop poaching in national parks. Omandja Omandja is […]

Africa: He lost his mother, then his arm - January 15, 2021

From PASA – Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance Young chimps need space to play. Especially Julius, the two-year-old chimp with only one arm. But because Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary recently rescued a shockingly high number of 23 orphans from the cruel wildlife trade, the nursery where Julius plays is bursting at the seams. Julius needs a safe enclosure to recover […]

Scientist and primatologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh joins the Great Ape Project - January 12, 2021

January 12, 2021 – Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Director of Project Kanzi, the bonobo who learned the language of symbols, joins the Great Ape Project as a scientific advisor and creates the GAP Project in the United States. Her experience and her advanced communication work with great primates, and especially with the bonobo Kanzi, enrich the GAP […]

Save the Chimps Sanctuary: In Loving Memory of Norene and Melissa - December 29, 2020

Save the Chimps Sanctuary: In Loving Memory of Norene and Melissa With great sadness, we announce that we lost two beloved members of our Save the Chimps family recently – Norene and Melissa. Norene was born Nov. 3, 1986, to her mother Rosemary at The Coulston Foundation (TCF). Norene was taken from her mother approximately […]

Happy Holidays and a Great 2021! - December 10, 2020

May the learning of 2020 inspire a new and better decade. Happy Holidays and a Great 2021!

Baby chimp gives hope for Guinea’s famous ape tribe - November 30, 2020

Conakry (AFP), Nov 26, 2020 A dwindling tribe of chimpanzees in Guinea that leapt to prominence for uncanny abilities to use tools has a glimmer of hope after its last fertile female gave birth. The tiny community of apes lives in a forest around the village of Bossou, in the far southeastern corner of the […]

Make it a Life-Changing #GivingTuesday for the Apes! - November 30, 2020

From Center for Great Apes In this time of uncertainty, there is always hope – that together we can do extraordinary things. Please join us as people around the world come together on Giving Tuesday, December 1st, to support the causes they care about the most. With a life-changing gift for the orangutans and chimpanzees, […]

Captain comes home - November 16, 2020

From PASA – Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance Do you remember Captain? As an infant, his mother was killed by poachers who then sold Captain as an illegal pet. He was kept alone for 11 long years in a barren cage that was so small, he couldn’t even stand. PASA and Parc de la Lekedi, one […]

GAP Spain grieves the death of two chimpanzees who were shot after escaping in a Dutch zoo - November 10, 2020

GAP Project Spain once again mourns the death of Mike and Karibuna, two chimpanzees who have been shot dead in the beginning if November at the Dieren Park zoo, in the city of Amersfoort (Netherlands), after escaping from their enclosure due to the carelessness of a keeper who left the door open. The statement made […]

Argentina: AFADA fills Habeas Corpus lawsuit for chimpanzee Toti - November 9, 2020

On 11/06/2020, Afada Ong @afadaong filed a Habeas Corpus lawsuit with the Public Defense office of the Province of Rio Negro, Argentina, requesting the release of the chimpanzee Toti from the local zoo. The proposal is that he is transferred to the Great Primates Sanctuary of Sorocaba, in São Paulo, Brazil. May justice be done […]

PASA/Africa: Give 25 monkeys a chance to be free - November 6, 2020

From PASA – Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance Right now, PASA is conducting our largest primate rescue ever – and we desperately need your help. In September, a truck smuggling monkeys from the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa was intercepted in Zimbabwe on a route that some investigators believe is commonly used to traffic wildlife […]

“The Chimpanzee Chronicles”, by Debra Rosenman: “Chimps do not belong to us and they certainly do not belong to science” - November 2, 2020

Book review by Alyson Baker* “Chimps do not belong to us and they certainly do not belong to science” – the simple message behind The Chimpanzee Chronicles, a statement written by Adriana Martin in her contribution to this wonderful, if harrowing, collection. The contributions detail the lives of chimpanzees in captivity; in laboratories, in zoos, […]

It’s Pumpkin season! - October 30, 2020

From Save the Chimps Sanctuary Perhaps you’ve carved pumpkins, drank your pumpkin lattes, and enjoyed your pumpkin spice. Well, now it’s time to get to know Pumpkin the chimp and learn how you can support him with a symbolic adoption! Pumpkin was born on October 27, 1986 at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery […]

GAP Brazil: Play time at the Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba - October 14, 2020

It’s children’s week in Brazil and we would like to share some play time moments of chimpanzees from the Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, in São Paulo, Brazil. Some of the chimps are very young, but some others not that much 🙂        

Support the Giving Day for Apes – October, 13, 2020 - October 12, 2020

On October 13, 2020, join Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries for a global day of giving in support of 37 qualified sanctuaries and rescue centers providing rehabilitation or long-term care for apes throughout Africa, Asia and North America. It’s quite simple. You enter the website of the campaign – https://givingdayforapes.mightycause.com/giving-events/ga20/home, find a participant and choose […]

Welcome Home, Sinbad, Connie, Hanna, Pumpkin and Peanut! - October 9, 2020

From The Center for Great Apes (CGA) In spite of a pandemic, our mission and work to help great apes goes on. Just a few weeks ago, the Center for Great Apes accepted five more orangutans who needed an immediate sanctuary home. Since the Center is the only accredited sanctuary for orangutans in the Americas, we […]