A new HBO documentary series has fans asking what happened to Tonka the Chimp after being the focus of Eric Goode's Chimp Crazy.
The four-part doc started its run on HBO and Max on August 18 and will last four weeks before ending in early September.
It centers on Tonia Maddix, a real-life animal broker who takes in an ape named Tonka. However, her love for the charismatic ape quickly gets swept up in a complicated web involving various animal rights groups and the question of what animals are ethically ready to be house pets.
Where Did Chimp Crazy's Tonka Come From?
After being the subject of the HBO Chimp Crazy documentary, audiences are clamoring to know more about Tonka the Chimp and where he came from.
Before his appearance in the documentary (which largely takes place during the years 2021/2022), Tonka started working in Hollywood as an animal actor.
Born in October 1991, the chimpanzee was separated from his mother at a young age. He has appeared in major big-screen blockbusters like George of the Jungle, Babe: Pig in the City, and Buddy.
However, his stint working in Hollywood would be short. By 2003, Tonka was deemed too large and strong to work on Hollywood productions.
After this, the chimp was transferred to the Missouri Primate Foundation (MPF), a controversial U.S.-based primate housing project. Tonka the Chimp stayed at the MPF (formerly known as Chimparty) for a little more than a decade, from 2003 to 2017.
The ape was then moved from the MPF after the organization was sued by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (aka PETA) for what the international advocacy group deemed improper and cruel conditions at the facility.
During this legal battle, Tonka came to live with MPF member and ape enthusiast Tonia Maddix (the human character at the center of Chimp Crazy).
Maddix came into possession of the chimp as the future of the MPF hung in the balance. Over their time together, Maddix developed a deep and personal relationship with Tonka the Chimp.
Maddix eventually faked Tonka's death in 2021, as PETA aimed to reclaim the ape and hopefully give him a new life elsewhere.
However, after a lengthy investigation and a public campaign from PETA and actor Alan Cummings, it was found that Tonka was not dead and was being kept in Maddix's basement under dire conditions.
In 2022, Tonka the Chimp was rescued from Maddix's possession. He was found to be overweight and pale due to his poor diet and tight underground confines.
Where Is Tonka the Chimp Now?
More than two years after his rescue, Tonka the Chimp from Chimp Crazy lives outside the Missouri Primate Foundation and Tonia Maddix.
Following the organization's liberation of the iconic big-screen ape, PETA placed Tonka in the care of the Save the Chimps advocacy group and care facility in Florida.
Tonka has lived in Save the Chimps' Fort Pierce, Florida facility since 2022. There, he has been able to interact with other apes in an ample space and has received the utmost care and refuge from the outside world. This is a far cry from the subservient life the ape had been living for decades before PETA rescued it.
As for Maddix, she is still working in the business of ape brokering (at least according to her public Facebook profile). As of 2023, she was raising apes and other exotic animals at her Sunrise Beach, Missouri home and has opened a family-run zoo near the Missouri community of Lake of the Ozarks (per People).
Chimp Crazy continues on HBO with new episodes set to debut on Sunday, September 1 and September 8.
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