Where is Tonka, the primate star of 'Chimp Crazy', now?

“I would give anything that I have, possession-wise, for that child. I would give my life for him,” Tonia Haddix says in a trailer for HBO’s “Chimp Crazy” docuseries.

She’s talking about Tonka, the 32-year-old chimpanzee whose remarkable life story unfolds in the four-part docuseries directed by Eric Goode of “Tiger King" fame.

“Chimp Crazy” explores how Haddix’s love for Tonka takes a dark turn, and ultimately sparks ethical concerns around primate exploitation and abuse.

Read on to learn more about Tonka’s story and how he is doing now.

What is Tonka’s story?

Tonka was born in captivity and was “taken from his mother prematurely” to work in the entertainment industry, according to Save the Chimps.

He appeared in multiple Hollywood movies in the late 1990s, including “George of the Jungle,” “Babe: Pig in the City” and “Buddy.”

When he grew too large to work in movies, he was sent to Chimparty, facility in Festus, Missouri that was later renamed the Missouri Primate Foundation, per Save the Chimps.

In 2017, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sued the Missouri Primate Foundation, alleging that chimpanzees at the foundation, including Tonka, were kept in unsanitary living conditions and given insufficient space and opportunities for social interaction.

In 2017, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sued the Missouri Primate Foundation, alleging that chimpanzees at the foundation, including Tonka, were kept in unsanitary living conditions and given insufficient space and opportunities for social interaction.

Haddix, a former nurse turned volunteer at the Missouri Primate Foundation, took over the foundation and ownership of the animals in 2018, and soon after was added as a defendant to PETA’s lawsuit.

PETA and Haddix negotiated a consent agreement that would have allowed Haddix to keep three of the seven chimpanzees if she had met certain conditions.

Conditions, according to the consent decree, included specific structures that complied with size and temperature requirements, and regular updates on construction progress. Further, she needed to hire a “full-time chimpanzee caregiver,” a maintenance worker and a volunteer. Haddix also agreed not to be breed or possess other chimpanzees in the future.

AP reported that in July 2021, a U.S. District Court judge Catherine Perry ruled that Haddix failed to meet the standards laid out in the decree. She faced a $50 a day fine and an order to allow PETA to access the chimpanzees. KTVI reported Haddix saying she would fight the court order. “We’ll go as far as we need to go try to keep the chimps. That’s all there is to it,” she said.

However, in July 2021, six of the seven chimpanzees were removed from the Missouri Primate Facility and relocated to the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida, PETA wrote in a press release.

One chimpanzee, Tonka, was missing when PETA arrived to collect the animals and carry out the court order. Haddix said Tonka died of natural causes and her husband signed a court affidavit saying Tonka’s body was cremated, per the St. Louis Dispatch. PETA was doubtful, with a PETA attorney telling Inside Edition the organization “never believed Tonia’s story.”

Haddix maintained that Tonka had died. As HBO’s documentary shows, Haddix said in a virtual court hearing that Tonka had died, even displaying what she said Tonka’s ashes were held. But the judge said Haddix’s testimony about Tonka’s whereabouts was not credible, according to NBC News.

The judge’s ruling is included in the documentary.

“There is inconsistent and implausible evidence presented by Ms. Haddix. It is my belief that Ms. Haddix makes things up… but does that convince me Tonka is alive and she has hidden him? No, it does not. What I want to know is if this chimpanzee is alive or not,” she said. Based on the evidence, the judge said she “cannot say.”

The judge denied a motion for contempt until PETA could produce information that Tonka was alive.

Immediately after the virtual hearing was over, Haddix revealed, on camera, that Tonka was indeed alive. “They have to leave us alone unless they can get evidence he’s alive. We won,” she said on the phone with Connie Casey, owner of the Missouri Primate Foundation, as shown in the documentary.

Later in 2022, PETA — unaware of Tonka’s whereabouts — launched a campaign to find Tonka and eventually enlisted the help of Alan Cumming, who had appeared alongside the chimp in 1997’s “Buddy. Together, they offered $20,000 for information on Tonka’s whereabouts.

Eventually, the documentarians involved with “Chimp Crazy” told PETA about Tonka’s whereabouts, believing his welfare was endangered. Haddix planned to euthanize the animal.

She said in an interview with the Post Dispatch that she kept Tonka so that he “would die peacefully and with people who loved him.”

Haddix was hiding the chimpanzee in her basement, “alone and without the care and companionship his complex species requires,” according to Save the Chimps.

“He could take only a few steps in any direction, he was not allowed to go outside, he couldn’t feel the sun or the grass beneath his feet, he had no companionship with other chimpanzees, he was substantially overweight, and he was not receiving proper veterinary care,” PETA wrote of Tonka’s conditions.

In June 2022, PETA worked with U.S. Marshals to seize Tonka and transfer him to an “accredited facility of their choosing,” per a temporary restraining order and order to show cause filing. The restraining order said Haddix was “temporarily restrained from euthanizing Tonka.” She had to allow PETA and other officials “full access to Tonka” for the “safe transfer” to a veterinarian for an examination, the restraining order read.

After Tonka was seized, PETA shared an update: “Tonka will finally have room to roam, lush grounds to explore, and the chance to socialize with other chimpanzees.”

Fox 2 published a statement from Haddix after Tonka was seized. “I still stand on my promise to Tonka, and I would do anything to protect him from the evil clutches of PETA and the hell hole they placed him in. And that if the judicial system was just, he never would have left the only home he’s ever known,” she said.

In March 2023, Haddix was ordered to pay PETA $224,404.24 to reimburse the expenses and attorneys’ fees the organization spent in its efforts to collect Tonka.

She told Rolling Stone she regrets lying to a judge.

“For sure, that’s definitely not a proud moment. This was about feelings toward a chimpanzee. It’s not like I’m a con artist and I sit around dreaming up cons. I loved him so much; I was flying by the seat of my pants. I didn’t have a game plan, and I got caught up in it. I’ve said a hundred times I would like to be able to tell Judge Perry how sorry I am because I felt horrible,” she said.

Where is Tonka now?

Tonka lives at Save the Chimps, a sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida, that currently houses more than 200 rescued chimpanzees.

Save the Chimps provides care to animals who were rescued from the entertainment industry, the pet trade or research laboratories, according to the organization’s website.

When Tonka arrived at the sanctuary, he was “pale and overweight” after having been held in a small basement enclosure and fed a poor diet, the sanctuary said.

Today, he lives as part of a family of 17 chimpanzees over a 3-acre island. He and his fellow chimps can move freely around the indoor and outdoor areas of their habitat, which reflects the sanctuary’s emphasis on giving chimps “choices and control over their own lives.”

“This journey has not been easy for Tonka, but thanks to the hard work of many including @PETA and our care staff, now he will receive the best care and actually have the basic freedoms that he deserves with other chimpanzees who share that same trauma,” the sanctuary also wrote.

How is Tonka doing?

Tonka is thriving in his new life and has grown more comfortable socializing with his fellow chimps, Save the Chimps staffer Jenny Friedman said on the sanctuary’s website.

“When Tonka came to us, he was more human-oriented than chimp-oriented and rarely involved himself in group politics. Now, you would never know that Tonka is new to the group,” she said. “He interacts affectionately with all the chimps and will drop everything to join a grooming session, especially if his beloved Ursula invites him.”

Sanctuary staffer Deanna Jenkins described one heartwarming interaction between Tonka and a female chimp named September.

“September went up to Tonka, and he went up to her, and they just embraced in this huge hug and panted on each other, and she groomed him for a while,” Jenkins said in a YouTube video shared by the sanctuary. “And it was really interesting to see because Tonka has stayed back a little bit during these introductions and not  getting too much involved… so to see him actually pursue her was a really great experience.”

Tonka has bonded with multiple chimps at the sanctuary — including Cayleb, who turned out to be Tonka’s biological son.

Cayleb "like his father was bred to be used in Hollywood productions as an infant, then discarded when he grew too strong to control," Dan Mathews, director of events and special projects at Save the Chimps, told TODAY.com in an email.

"They spend much of their time together, grooming each other, eating, playing and roaming their island habitat with 15 other chimpanzee companions," he said.

Tonka fathered Cayleb when he was previously owned by a chimpanzee breeder, Save the Chimps CEO Ana Paula Tavares told the LA Times.

While all male chimps at the sanctuary get vasectomies, Tavares told the LA Times that Tonka remains “very interested in the females” and joked that he is “quite a ladies’ man.”

These days, the sanctuary says Tonka’s favorite things include sunshine, juice and fleece blankets.

He also enjoys painting, which is one of his favorite enrichment activities.

Chimpanzees typically live anywhere from 40 to 60 years, according to Save the Chimps, meaning that Tonka, who turns 33 in October, could potentially live decades more at the sanctuary.

Has Tonia Haddix seen Tonka since his rescue?

Haddix does not appear to have seen Tonka since he moved to the Save the Chimps sanctuary in 2022.

In a Sept. 8 Rolling Stone interview, she said that while she hopes to see Tonka again, she is not sure she will.

Haddix said she would like to visit him at the sanctuary and ask the chimp “if he wants to come home.”

“They can bring all the media they want; I’m self-assured he would jump in that cage. It took 45 minutes of Tonka screaming to get him out of my house. But I guarantee it’d take me five minutes to get him back to my house,” she told Rolling Stone.

Haddix also said she “tried to connect” with Save the Chimps, but said she had no success.

“Nobody answers the phone or returns phone calls. I’ve asked (former PETA attorney) Jared Goodman on four different occasions to be able to see him,” she said. “Long story short, nobody cares.”

In a Sept. 8 interview with the LA Times, Save the Chimps CEO Ana Paula Tavares said she had not heard from Haddix.

She told the publication that if Haddix wanted to visit the sanctuary, she would consult with her staff and “make any decisions based on the welfare of Tonka.”

Save the Chimps is only open to outside visitors a handful of days per year, either when certain donors are invited to visit the facility, or when the general public is permitted to tour the sanctuary as part of special ticketed events.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com