The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance receives countless emails and phone calls about apes and monkeys in terrible situations around the world. These very diverse situations include chimpanzees in cages in horrific zoos, monkeys spending their lives tied to short ropes in village markets, and animals ranging from Liberia to Iraq.

PASA works in collaboration with our member organizations across Africa to do whatever we can to help these animals by transferring them to PASA wildlife sanctuaries or at least working to improve their living conditions. Once in a while, one of these animals particularly touches people’s hearts.

Ponso is a victim of the New York Blood Center, a large organization that provides blood and conducts medical research. Their virus research laboratory in Liberia kept Ponso and dozens of other chimpanzees in horrific conditions in order to expose them to lethal viruses and repeatedly take tissue samples.

Ponso was one of 20 chimpanzees abandoned by the New York Blood Center more than 30 years ago on tiny islands in Ivory Coast that don't have enough water or food for chimps to survive. Although people intermittently dropped off food and water, 11 of the chimps died of disease and hunger within months. Soon the only survivors were Ponso, his mate, and their two offspring. Nearly three years ago Ponso watched all of his family members die, leaving him completely alone – a life that amounts to emotional torture for such a social animal.

But there is still hope for the loneliest chimp in the world! Last month, Estelle Raballand of PASA member organization Centre de Conservation pour Chimpanzés visited Ponso. Despite the horrible abuse he has suffered at the hands of humans, Ponso was delighted to meet Estelle and warmly embraced her. While this moment was inspiring, it revealed how desperately lonely he is.

The group SOS Ponso and PASA member organizations are doing everything possible to ensure Ponso spends his remaining days living in a proper forest habitat with other chimpanzees and receiving loving care. Estelle is arranging blood tests to find if Ponso can be moved out of Ivory Coast, possibly to a PASA member wildlife center, while SOS Ponso continues to raise much-needed support.

For more Information, please check: HERE

The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance receives countless emails and phone calls about apes and monkeys in terrible situations around the world. These very diverse situations include chimpanzees in cages in horrific zoos, monkeys spending their lives tied to short ropes in village markets, and animals ranging from Liberia to Iraq.

For more Information, please check: HERE