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Castaway: New Hope For ‘Loneliest' Chimp
DUBBED “the loneliest chimp on the planet”, Ponso is the only survivor of 20 chimps who were left abandoned on a desert island. The group were subjected to years of medical experiments at the New York Blood Center, and then left on an island off the Ivory Coast in 1983, with no food or water. After being in captivity for so long, they struggled to survive in the wild and many succumbed to illness or starvation. Ponso’s mate and two children tragically died in 2013. Luckily, Ponso was kept alive thanks to villager, Germain Jamal, who brought him bread, water and bananas. Alexandra Gazel set up the campaign group SOS Ponso in August last year after visiting the island, which to date has raised over €43,000 to help feed and nurture the long-suffering chimp – as well as arranging for primate expert Estelle Raballand to help nourish him back to health.
Videographer / director: SOS PONSO
Producer: Mark Hodge, Nick Johnson
Editor: Joshua Douglas
Pictures: Martin Broomfied and Francesco Zezza
SOS PONSO: Alexandra Gazel and Estelle Raballand
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