Sandra (orangutan) facts for kids

Sandra is an orangutan born on February 14, 1986, at the Rostock Zoo in East Germany. She now lives at the Center for Great Apes in Florida. Sandra moved there in 2019 from the Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina.

Sandra became famous because of an important court case in Argentina. This case asked if an orangutan could have legal rights, like a "nonhuman person."

Sandra's Early Life

Sandra was born on Valentine's Day in 1986. She is a mix of two types of orangutans: Borneo and Sumatra. When she was young, her name was Marisa.

Sandra moved to different zoos in Germany. Then, on September 17, 1994, she moved to Argentina. At the Buenos Aires Zoo, her name was changed to Sandra.

At the Buenos Aires Zoo, Sandra lived in a cage made of concrete and steel bars. She had a baby boy named Gembira in March 1999. But Gembira was later moved to a zoo in China, so Sandra was separated from him.

At one point, Sandra was moved to Cordoba Zoo. The zoos wanted her to have babies with an orangutan named Max. But Sandra did not want to be with Max. She preferred to sit outside in the rain and snow.

Sandra lived alone for several years. During this time, an animal welfare group called AFADA started a court case for her. They wanted Sandra to have "personhood" rights.

Legal Rights for Animals

On December 18, 2014, a court in Argentina called Sandra a "subject of rights." This was part of a case that tried to get her released from the Buenos Aires Zoo. The court did not release her, but it did say that the zoo should be investigated for possible cruelty.

The phrase "subject of rights" was a bit unclear. It did not fully say if Sandra was a "non-human being" in a legal way. But on October 21, 2015, Justice Elena Amanda Liberatori made a new ruling. She said that Sandra is "a non-human person" (which means "una persona no humana" in Spanish). The judge ordered the city of Buenos Aires to give Sandra what she needed to keep her mind active.

Many news reports first said that Sandra was called a "non-human person" in 2014. But this was an interpretation by the animal rights lawyers. Justice Liberatori's ruling in 2015 was the first time a judge clearly stated it. The judge also said that Sandra would not have the same rights as a human being.

About a year later, another court in Buenos Aires changed this decision. They said that Sandra was not a non-human person after all.

In most places around the world, animals are seen as property, not as beings with rights. Also, in law, a "person" is not always a "human being." For example, a company can be a legal "person" even though it's not a human.

In 2015, the group ALFADA tried again to get Sandra released from the zoo. They also wanted her to have "person" status under Argentina's laws. These laws talk about "visible existing persons" (like people) and "ideal existing persons" (like companies). There was no category for "non-human person" in the law.

On October 21, 2015, Justice Elena Liberatori ruled that a special group would decide how Sandra's new rights would be handled. This eventually led to Sandra being moved to a sanctuary.

On June 14, 2016, a higher court in Buenos Aires reversed Justice Liberatori's ruling. This meant Sandra was no longer legally a "non-human person."

In 2019, Sandra was moved to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas for a month of quarantine. Then, on November 5, 2019, she arrived at the Center for Great Apes in Florida. The director, Patti Regan, said that Sandra is "very sweet and inquisitive." She was shy at first, but then she started to explore her new home with swings, toys, and grassy areas.

See also

In Spanish: Sandra (orangután) para niños

• List of individual apes