Videos recorded at Pousada Pantanal Norte, in Barão de Melgaço, Mato Grosso, show a female howler monkey caring for other animals. Despite being female, she is referred to as male by the lodge’s owner, Tarso Lopes, who named her Sansão (Samson in English). Lopes describes the little monkey as “the king of the place.”

“In fact, Sansão is a female. We only discovered that after a long time, when her sexuality became evident. But he protects all the animals at the lodge—there's a tapir, an anteater, and many others. He’s always there, looking after them. He came here at just seven days old and stayed. Now, he's two and a half years old,” Lopes said.

Pousada Pantanal Norte is a Wildlife Release Area (Asas), registered with the Mato Grosso State Environmental Secretariat (Sema-MT). The lodge is authorized to receive rescued animals from the Environmental Protection Military Police Battalion (BPMMT) and the Mato Grosso Military Fire Department (CBMMT).

The Asas program requires registered areas to have preserved forests and proper enclosures for animals to acclimate before release. Participants, usually involved in environmental conservation, receive technical training to handle feeding, rehabilitation, and adaptation, ensuring the animals can safely return to their natural habitat.

The inn's website can be accessed on the page https://www.pousadapantanalnorte.com.br