Colombia began on Sunday (23) the transfer of the last chimpanzee living in captivity to a sanctuary in Brazil. Yoko, the 38 -year -old primate, was rescued from drug traffickers and spent nearly two years alone after death, gunfire, two companions.
The chimpanzee was transferred from BioParque Ukumari, in the city of Pereira, Colombia, to Bogota, where he continued the trip to the Shrine of Great Primates in Sorocaba, in the interior of São Paulo.
Yoko has lived under the care of experts since 2018, after being rescued from conditions related to drug trafficking. From a puppy, he was the victim of animal traffickers, who handed him to a drug trafficker who trained the primate to imitate human actions.
“Yoko learned human behaviors such as riding a bicycle, smoked, became addicted to television, living dress, which distanced him from any chance to live in his natural habitat,” said environmental senator Andrea Padilla.
Yoko was the last great primate living in captivity in Colombia, after his companions Pancho and Chita were shot and killed by running away from the Ukumari biopaque in 2023.
After the deaths, the transfer to the sanctuary in Brazil was facilitated by coordinated efforts of various national and international entities to improve Yoko’s well-being.
