A "Raffles" among the chimpanzees

SOROCABA SANCTUARY

More than 50 years ago there was a series, produced in England and translated to a lot of languages, which was called RAFFLES: AN EXPERT JEWEL THIEF. The character was a very unusual thief, because he robbed and no one was able to notice, because he took wallets and other valued things with a singular delicacy.

In Sorocaba we have just discovered our “Raffles”. He is a chimpanzee named Claudio, who practically was raised by the team of the sanctuary. A few days ago, after a lot of hours of intense activity, I laid down in a net inside the enclosure where Guga, Emilio and Claudio stay in the morning. My mobile was inside the front pocket of my jeans, well kept. I ended up sleeping and Claudio was around, looking some cartoons that I had taken. A few minutes later I woke up and came back to my normal activities. But a little later I realized my mobile phone had disappeared. I looked everywhere and was not able to find it. In the next day I asked the keepers to look for it, mainly in Guga and Claudio’s tunnel. And there it was my mobile, already destroyed.

In the next day I entered the enclosure again and took a Nextel radio in the same pocket. Claudio kept playing near me and was able to see that there was other equipment in the pocket. His eyes shone with malice and this moment I realized he had robbed my mobile, with an ability and delicacy that could cause envy to the most competent thief.