As well as being the
founding chimp of the
sanctuary, Bruno is
also a local celebrity
and the former alpha
male of our original
group of chimps at Tacugama.
Bruno is forcefully
charismatic, spectacularly
imposing and physically
the strongest chimpanzee
at the Sanctuary.
Bruno has gained a
world-class notoriety
for throwing stones
in the defense of his
territory. When in the
mood, Bruno is capable
of imitating several
traditionally human-like
characteristics such
as tongue rolling and
twisting, ‘flying kisses’,
and even laughter.
When Bala Amarasekaran
and his wife Sharmila
first saw Bruno he was
a few months old, and
very weak. They paid
$30 for him, (certain
that if they had not
he would have soon died),
and named him Bruno
- after Frank Bruno,
the British heavyweight
boxer who was fighting
Mike Tyson that very
day!
For a year he lived
in Bala and Sharmila's
house, without a cage,
and got into plenty
of mischief. When they
rescued a second chimp,
Julie, Bala erected
a cage for them in the
garden. When the sanctuary
was built, Bruno had
to remain in a cage,
as he was too large
to go on the daily forest
walks with the younger
chimps. It wasn't until
the electric fenced
enclosures were built
in 1998 that Bruno was
able to taste the freedom
of the forest.
Bruno is now 21 years
old and is a large,
powerful chimp. While
he is no longer with
us at the Sanctuary
we do hope he returns
soon. He is wary of
visitors and is painfully
accurate at hurling
rocks and stones at
anyone he doesn't like
the look of. We all
miss his spectacular
and impressive displays.
However, to those who
know him, he is an extremely
affectionate and cheeky
character. He keeps
his group in order whenever
things get out of hand
(usually at feeding
time) and is gentle
and protective over
the young ones.
