Vargem Grande Paulista Sanctuary (São Paulo)

In 1998, Selma Mandruca, currently the national coordinator of GAP Brazil, and her mother, Sonia, bought Serginho, a baby chimpanzee, and they had plans to raise him as a pet. In a short period of time they recognized that this idea was wrong and issues about mistreating led them to get involved with the cause and to dedicate their time to the battle for great primates’ rights.

Nowadays Vargem Grande Paulista sanctuary houses the grown-up Serginho and other four chimpanzees, who live in two different groups. The installations have an internal area of approximately 300m2 with bedrooms, food area, connection aisles and security corridors, and, besides, they have a large external area for playing activities, exercise and socialization. As long as they are not too many, it is possible to develop a socialization work and to have a closer and more personal contact with each one. The chimpanzees of this sanctuary are very much like humans, as long as all of them came from circus, and they love to watch TV, mainly in the rainy days.