After a long wait, a battle between protectionist groups and a legal dispute, the chimpanzee Toti is closer to freedom.
The animal has been in captivity for 33 years since birth. Since 2013, he has been confined at the private zoo Bubalcó, near the town of Allen, in RÃo Negro.
Chimpanzee Toti, one step closer to living in freedom
For years, protectionist groups have been demanding the transfer of chimpanzee Toti to a sanctuary to end 33 years of captivity.
He was born on August 29, 1990, at the zoo of Jorge Cutini in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires province. Shortly after, he was separated from his mother and moved to another facility in Florencio Varela.
In 2008, he arrived at a zoo in Córdoba and has been living at Bubalcó since 2013.
Throughout these years, there have been legal claims led by organizations specialized in these types of cases, community mobilizations, social media demands, and institutional decisions.
Finally, the Justice appointed two entities to actively participate in Toti’s preparation.
The Franz Weber Foundation and the Jane Goodall Institute Argentina reported progress in the judicial case where the Animal Officials and Lawyers Association for Animal Rights (Afada) acts as the plaintiff.
Both foundations are responsible for evaluating and preparing the animal.
Toti’s Future
Toti was transferred to Bubalcó from the Córdoba zoo in 2013, and shortly after, a legal case began, driven by Afada. They demanded his transfer to a sanctuary. The case, titled “A.F.A.D.A. ONG v. Bubalcó Zoo on Amparo (f)”, is being heard in the Family Court No. 17 of Roca.
In April, both organizations, Franz Weber Foundation and Jane Goodall Institute Argentina, appointed by the court for Toti’s preparation process, reported that the necessary conditions have been met to begin a new phase of preparation aimed at the future translocation of Toti to a specialized center.
Therefore, they are now working on a “non-invasive training”, which includes, among other things, familiarizing Toti with new routines, progressively adapting to the use of transport containers, and building trust relationships with the team that would accompany him in a possible transfer to a sanctuary.
The training also “substantially improves Toti’s day-to-day life, as it represents a stimulus and enrichment both cognitively and socially,” said Franz Weber Foundation to local media.
“It also provides him with tools to collaborate with non-invasive veterinary checks and thus be cared for and attended to in greater detail during the time it takes for preparation,” they added.
They also celebrated the addition of a professional with experience in training large apes, who works from RÃo Negro in collaboration with the team at Bioparque Bubalcó.
