HBO 'Chimp Crazy' tells how abused Tonka came to live at Fort Pierce sanctuary

Tonka, a famous chimpanzee that PETA and actor Alan Cumming spent nearly a year searching for in a bizarre animal-rights legal battle, has been at the Save the Chimps sanctuary in western St. Lucie County since June 2022.

Tonka starred with Cumming in "Buddy" and appeared in other Hollywood movies, including "George of the Jungle" and "Babe: Pig In the City." Now his story is the main focus of "Chimp Crazy," a buzzed-about HBO docuseries that premiered Aug. 18 and was directed by Eric Goode , who also directed the "Tiger King" docuseries for Netflix .

Tonka went from Hollywood to a Missouri breeding compound, which People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals helped shut down, to the Missouri home of Tonia Haddix , an untrained and inexperienced exotic animal broker.

Then Tonka disappeared after a U.S. judge ordered Haddix to surrender him and six other chimps.

"Chimp Crazy" documents how the buxom blonde, who calls herself the Dolly Parton of chimps, became so infatuated with Tonka she faked his death, hid him from authorities, and planned to euthanize him rather than give him up.

Director's cut: 'Chimp Crazy' director on Tonia Haddix's bananas on-camera reveal that she took Tonka

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Haddix put Tonka in a shady Ohio roadside zoo "before confining him to a tiny cage in her basement in Missouri for months," PETA claims. Once rescued by the U.S. Marshals Service, Tonka was sent to Save the Chimps near Fort Pierce.

Though accredited, Save the Chimps has had its own issues in the past. A 2020 TCPalm investigation — sparked by the death of Tiffany and improper care of the ailing Tuffy — exposed a dozen Animal Welfare Act violations. Save the Chimps has not responded to TCPalm's multiple emails and phone calls to talk about Tonka.

PETA helps shut down Chimparty/Missouri Primate Foundation

Tonka was born in captivity and taken from his mother at the Working Wildlife breeding compound in California in 2001, according to Save the Chimps' website . Steve Martin is a trainer there , not the famous actor and comedian.

After Tonka had grown too big and strong for Hollywood productions, he was given to Connie Casey's Missouri Primate Foundation breeding compound in 2003, where he lived for the next 18 years. Casey bred chimps "in her filthy home" for the entertainment industry, according to PETA, whose lawsuit helped shut her down in 2021.

PETA chronicled escapes, shooting deaths and attacks on people, and at least 13 USDA violations for:

• Barren and unsanitary enclosures.
• Inadequate diet and veterinary care.
• Deprivation of social contact, physical space, and environmental enrichment such as ways to play, socialize, forage, climb, build nests, and use tools.

Judge orders Tonia Haddix to surrender seven chimpanzees

After Casey gave seven chimps, including Tonka, to Haddix in 2018, PETA added Haddix to its lawsuit in 2019 — and "Chimp Crazy" filmmakers began documenting the transition.

Haddix was filmed feeding chimps unhealthy hot dogs, sugary drinks such as Coke and Powerade, and McDonald's Happy Meals with fatty french fries, chicken nuggets and chocolate milk. She failed to build appropriate facilities and surrender four chimps to an accredited facility, which violated her lawsuit settlement agreement with PETA .

A U.S. district judge ordered Haddix to give all seven chimps to an accredited sanctuary in 2021. She gave six chimps to the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida — but claimed Tonka had died, according to PETA.

"Chimp Crazy" filmed a 2022 virtual court hearing in which Haddix recalled finding Tonka dead one morning, cremating him in a burn pile and keeping his remains. The judge denied PETA's motion to hold her in contempt of court unless it could prove Tonka was alive. Haddix shut her laptop and proclaimed victory to the film crew.

"We won, guys," she said, before admitting Tonka was alive and taking the film crew to the basement of her Lake of the Ozarks-area home to show them. She also said she had an appointment to euthanize him. The film crew notified PETA.

"PETA contacted Save the Chimps to assist in his rescue," the latter's website says. "Our senior medical and behavioral experts rushed to the scene and worked alongside U.S. Marshals and other authorities to rescue Tonka from his life of banishment."

Tonka lives at Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce

Tonka was pale, substantially overweight, and had not been receiving proper veterinary care, according to PETA.

“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," PETA's website says .

Tonka is now part of a 17-chimp family that lives on a three-acre island at Save the Chimps. After some sleuthing, the sanctuary said it discovered Tonka had two offspring there: daughter Lisa Marie and son Cayleb .

Lisa Marie was born at the Missouri Primate Foundation and sold to an Elvis impersonator in Chicago when she was barely a month old, according to PETA. When he wasn't hauling her to performances at parks, schools and nursing homes, he kept her in a tiny cage in a cramped basement wearing a collar with a padlock on it, PETA claims.

The real Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie Presley , urged him to surrender the small and delicate chimp, to no avail. But "thanks to a generous PETA patron," the chimp was rescued and sent to Save the Chimps, PETA says.

Cayleb was rescued from the entertainment industry and lived at the Wildlife Waystation animal refuge in California before it closed in 2019 and he was sent to Save the Chimps, its website says.

PETA hopes chimps' stories spark people to contact their lawmakers to pass the bipartisan Captive Primate Safety Act , which would ban the private ownership, breeding and commercial trade of monkeys and apes.

People also can adopt and shop for Tonka — or any of the 222 chimps — or donate to Save the Chimps .

Gianna Montesano is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com , 772-409-1429, or follow her on X @gonthescene .

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: HBO 'Chimp Crazy' tells how abused Tonka came to live at Fort Pierce sanctuary