The Story of Yoko and My Reflection

By Jaqueline B. Ramos

Reduced to the status of an exotic luxury item, Yoko crossed the world. He ended up in Colombia, where he was exploited in the shadowy world of a drug trafficker. Subjugated and forced into deplorable human habits, his spirit gradually broke. He entered a limbo, ceasing to be a wild chimpanzee and losing his essence. The physical toll: he has few teeth and  suffers from a skin condition. The psychological scars? Those will be monitored forever.

Yoko is a male chimpanzee, estimated to have been born in 1986. Like many others, he was a victim to wildlife trafficking. He was likely captured in the wild somewhere in Africa as a baby, cruelly torn from his mother’s arms, who was certainly killed. This barbaric ritual of the illegal wildlife trade, sadly, still happens.

Yoko remains in this “special humanized condition” to this day. After being exploited by the narcotrafficking, he was sent to a circus before finally being rescued at the Venezuela-Colombia border in the early 2000s. He was then cared for at a refuge in Cali, where life calmed somewhat. However, he remained alone in suboptimal captivity with limited resources.

In 2018, Yoko was transferred to Bioparque Ukumarí in Pereira, where two other chimpanzees, Pancho and Chita, lived. Integration with them was neither easy nor idyllic but marked the closest Yoko had come to reconnecting with his species. Tragically, in July 2023, after an attempted escape, both Pancho and Chita were shot dead. This setback delayed Yoko’s fragile progress toward socialization and a minimally dignified captive life.

Fortunately for Yoko, many people were paying attention and cared deeply about his fate. Thanks to an unprecedented international operation involving public and private institutions, he was transferred, on March 24, 2025, to the Great Apes Sanctuary of Sorocaba, in São Paulo State, Brazil—the largest Sanctuary for great apes in Latin America and affiliated with the GAP Project (Great Ape Project).

Sanctuaries in Latin America

Here I allow myself to speak from my personal experience as a collaborator and partner of GAP and its Sanctuaries for 17 years. With Yoko’s arrival, Sorocaba Sanctuary now provides a dignified life for 43 chimpanzees—all survivors of severe trauma and abuse. Another 32 have passed through the facility, living out their final years under attentive care. I’ve personally dedicated myself to documenting each individual’s story—these records can be found on the GAP Brazil website.

Under the leadership of Dr. Pedro Ynterian, a Brazilian-Cuban businessman, Sorocaba Sanctuary performs vital work by offering long-term care for this community of chimpanzees who unexpectedly found themselves living in captivity across Latin America. It’s also worth highlighting the incredible work of Instituto Conservacionista Anami, in Paraná, southern Brazil, which manages the second-largest great apes Sanctuary in Latin America—home to 27 chimpanzees and a orangutan.

A New Hope for Yoko

The hope now is that Yoko becomes another success story—one where integration with other chimpanzees in captivity proves possible. After just over a week in an entirely new environment unlike anything he has ever known, Yoko remains alert but is gradually relaxing into his surroundings.

He listens intently to the vocalizations of other chimpanzees who have already noticed their new neighbor and is slowly exploring his space while showing his preferences. After completing a 30-day quarantine period, the team will cautiously begin his integration process—a journey that will take as long as needed for Yoko’s well-being.

As someone deeply involved in advocating for non-human great apes rights over many years, sharing Yoko’s story is one way to highlight the complex relationship we have with animals. It also helps inform and inspire public awareness—encouraging action toward creating a more just world. At the end of the day, speaking up for animals also means speaking up for people and the environment; these elements are inseparable.

I sincerely wish that Yoko finds balance and enjoys the dignified life he deserves. May his story inspire many others and contribute to progress, which involves shifts in perspective, ethical reflection, legal and law reforms and punitive measures. From my side, I will continue communicating these stories and remaining attentive to many more experiences yet to come.

Good luck on your new journey, Yoko! Welcome!