After being locked in a cage in the basement for nearly a year, Tonka just wanted to get out. Although keepers had set up a cozy room with hammocks and blankets for the chimp, he avoided this private space after arriving at his new home – a monkey sanctuary on Florida’s Treasure Coast. Instead, he went out into the rain, sat quietly, and let the water soak his body.

It was just two years ago that Tonka arrived at Save the Chimps, a 370-acre sanctuary where 222 captive-born monkeys live out their final years. As documented in the finale of “Chimp Crazy,” the four-part series that concludes Sunday on HBO, Tonka was brought to the sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida, after PETA discovered his owner had hidden him in the depths of her Missouri home.

The animal rights organization was alerted to Tonka’s whereabouts by the producers of “Chimp Crazy” who feared Tonia Haddix would have the monkey euthanized. Haddix told the camera that her local veterinarian had diagnosed Tonka with congestive heart failure. But when the animal was seized from Haddix’s home by federal marshals on June 5, 2022, Save the Chimps veterinarians determined he had no serious medical issues. He was overweight – McDonald’s Happy Meals were a regular part of his diet – and pale from being indoors, but he was declared healthy enough to survive the 23-hour truck ride from Missouri to Florida.

Tonka eats a tomato at the Save the Chimps sanctuary.

(Melissa Simbrat)

In the docuseries, Haddix repeatedly expresses concern that Tonka would not thrive among other chimpanzees, after all, this was an animal she referred to as a “humanzee” – an ape who spent his youth appearing in Hollywood films such as “Buddy” and “George of the Jungle.” Later, at the Missouri Primate Foundation, he lived in a cage next to other chimpanzees but interacted more with the humans, who fed him Powerade, French fries and doughnuts.

However, Tonka’s keepers at the Florida sanctuary say he has adapted well to life with his peers.

“It’s amazing how well Tonka is doing,” says Ana Paula Tavares, CEO of Save the Chimps. “When the chimpanzees arrive here, they may initially be attracted to humans. But when they have the opportunity to be among their own kind, they increasingly prefer the company of other chimpanzees and eventually choose to do so.”

When he arrived, Tonka was quarantined for 60 days. During that time, the nonprofit’s primatologists monitored his behavior to determine which chimpanzee family would be best to slowly integrate him into. Of the dozens of island habitats on site, scientists chose Doug’s Island, a 3-acre area with rolling hills, climbing frames, and 16 other chimpanzees.

The goal of the sanctuary is to “give the chimpanzees a life as close to that in the wild as possible,” says Tavares. That means giving them the autonomy to move freely wherever they want and placing them in large social groups where they develop hierarchical societies.

Tonka has shown no great interest in interfering in the family group hierarchy, says Tavares. But he has formed close friendships with two other chimpanzees, Jake and Cayleb – the latter, it has since been revealed, is Tonka’s biological son.

“We didn’t know before that they were father and son, but seeing them jumping next to each other is just the most beautiful thing. It’s incredible how close they are,” she says.

Another of Tonka’s offspring, Lisa Marie – she was the pet of an Elvis impersonator – lives on another island in the sanctuary. Since Tonka belonged to a chimpanzee breeder, Tavares suspects he has multiple children; his paternal relationship to the two monkeys at Save the Chimps was established through information from previous breeders.

All male monkeys in the sanctuary undergo a vasectomy, but this does not prevent them from mating.

“I have to tell you, he is very interested in women. Tonka is a real ladies’ man,” says Tavares, laughing.

Otherwise, Tonka spends his days participating in recreational activities specially designed by local primatologists to stimulate the chimpanzees physically, mentally and emotionally. They paint, play with bubbles and forage for food such as frozen strawberries, French beans and lettuce.

The entire Save the Chimps population consumes 2,500 pounds of food a day, prepared by Jimmy Buffett’s former chef. They eat a vegan diet and occasionally eat healthy treats, like watermelon on the Fourth of July or apples covered in sugar-free caramel and nuts.

“It didn’t take much for Tonka to lose his excess weight after he was put on a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables and allowed to exercise in the Florida sun,” says Tavares, adding that if Tonka stays healthy, he could live to be over 60 years old – about two decades longer than the average in the wild.

At night, most chimpanzees move to their indoor quarters, where they can choose where and with whom to rest. Each chimpanzee is given a fresh supply of hay each day so that it can build an elaborate nest in which to fall asleep – a behavior that chimpanzees also exhibit in the wild. Although they see caregivers in the house, they never touch them – the closest they get to the animals is with “tickle sticks,” a 2-foot-long tube that staff insert through a mesh barrier to play with them from a distance.

Tonka and Tonia Haddix in “Chimp Crazy”.

(HBO)

Save the Chimps is not open to the public, but the organization hosts three events a year where donors can visit the grounds and see the apes from afar. (The nonprofit sanctuary is funded by donations; Tavares estimates that caring for a chimp costs the organization about $30,000 annually.) While she says there’s a good chance visitors will see Tonka because he’s “very curious and social,” there are no guarantees: “It’s chimp season.”

As for Haddix, the manager says she has not heard from Tonka’s former owner. If Haddix asks to visit the property, Tavares said she would consult with the staff primatologists and “make all decisions based on Tonka’s well-being.”

“It was very disturbing for us to watch some of the scenes with Tonka (in ‘Chimp Crazy’) and see how disturbed he seemed in those bad conditions,” says Tavares. “When you see him now, he’s super calm. He seems to be living the life he was meant to be living.”