Actor Alan Cumming has teamed up with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to determine the whereabouts of Tonka, his chimpanzee co-star in the 1997 film, Buddy.
PETA was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Tonka’s current whereabouts, a total Cumming has since doubled to $20,000. The chimpanzee was last known to be living at the now-defunct Missouri Primate Foundation (formerly known as Chimparty), which bred chimpanzees and rented them out for entertainment purposes.
The animal rights organization had sued the foundation over the living conditions of its chimpanzees and was given permission by a court to rescue Tonka and six others. However, when members went to carry out the order in July 2021, Tonka was gone, with owner Tonia Haddix claiming he’d “died.” She’d previously said they’d never get ahold of the chimpanzee.
She also “told various stories that didn’t add up and failed to prove that this was the case,” PETA added in a statement.
In January 2022, a judge determined that Haddix’s testimony was not credible, prompting PETA to make a public appeal for information as to Tonka’s whereabouts.
“If you know where [Alan] Cumming’s former costar may have been shipped to, sold, or hidden away, PETA wants to hear from you,” said Brittany Peet, the organization’s deputy counsel for captive animal law enforcement. “If he’s still alive, Tonka deserves to live out the rest of his days surrounded by chimpanzee friends at a lush sanctuary, as ordered by the court, and someone out there might be able to help PETA get him there.”
In the same statement, Cumming said, “During the months we filmed together, baby Tonka and I became good friends, playing and grooming each other and just generally larking around. It’s horrible to think he might be in a cage in a dark basement somewhere or have met some other fate, so I’m appealing to whoever knows what has become of him to please come forward and claim the reward.”
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Cumming and Tonka starred together in Buddy, a comedy based on the real-life story of 1920s socialite Gertrude Lintz, who raised monkeys as part of her family.