Exploring the Wild World of ‘Monkey Moms’

As Travis, the chimp, rocked the police car like a scene out of Jurassic Park, officer Frank Chiafari prepared to defend himself. “If he tries to get me out, I have no choice: I have to kill him,” Chiafari recalls. Face to face with Travis, he saw the chimp’s bloody teeth. “I tell people – I swear this is true – I didn’t hear it but it was like he said, please do it – like, I can’t take it anymore.”

Chiafari pulled the trigger, ending Travis’ life. Sandra Herold, the chimp’s owner, had called 911 after Travis attacked family friend Charla Nash in her driveway in Stamford, Connecticut. Nash survived but suffered the loss of her face, eyesight, and hands. Emergency responders initially couldn’t determine her gender.

It’s a horrifying story reminiscent of Jordan Peele’s 2022 film, “Nope.” This is one of the darker strands in “Chimp Crazy,” a four-part docuseries on the private ownership of chimps. At the center of this series is animal broker Tonia Haddix, who raises chimps as if they were her children and describes herself as “the Dolly Parton of Chimps.”

The series is filled with shocking moments. Viewers see a pet chimp watching the “dawn of man” scene from “2001: A Space Odyssey” with its owners. Trainer Pam Rosaire shares how she breastfed a premature chimp back to health, even feeding her daughter at the same time. Another “monkey mom” flaunts a closet full of clothes for her primate, dressing it like a child.

“Chimp Crazy” has been created by Eric Goode, the director of the sensational “Tiger King,” which captivated audiences during the pandemic lockdowns when it debuted on Netflix in March 2020.

Goode, 66, has extensive experience in the animal world and has spent over 20 years involved in conservation work for endangered turtles and tortoises. His ventures with a camera led him to not just “Tiger King” but also the world of “monkey moms,” most of whom are white women living in middle America.

The moms are initially charmed by the adorable baby chimps. However, managing them becomes a challenge once they hit puberty. These animals often need to be controlled with drugs, shock collars, and the removal of their canine teeth.

The series primarily focuses on Haddix, a former nurse caring for seven captive chimps used in commercials, photo shoots, and movies. “I love these chimps more than anything in the world, and I mean more than anything – more than my kids, more than anything,” she says in the film.

Haddix has a special bond with Tonka, a 32-year-old chimp who starred in movies like “George of the Jungle,” “Babe: Pig in the City,” and “Buddy.” According to her, their connection was meant to be.

Haddix’s biological son accepts playing second fiddle to Tonka. Sitting resignedly on an upturned bucket, he shares, “I’ve never seen her that passionate about anything in my life, ever, and that includes her own son.”

Goode reflects on the obsession Haddix has with her chimps, suggesting that it might be tied to mental health issues. Haddix keeps Tonka caged in her basement, feeds him McDonald’s Happy Meals, and shows him videos of his chimp relatives on her phone, seemingly unaware or in denial about animal welfare concerns.

Over the past 30 years, acquiring a chimp in the U.S. has become more challenging, but there are still no federal laws banning ownership. Goode muses on the difficulty of understanding what chimps think, noting that repetitive tics in animals indicate extreme boredom.

A chimp in a bad mood can be terrifying, combining immense strength with high intelligence. During the making of “Tiger King,” Goode learned that many would prefer having a hundred tigers over one chimpanzee.

“Chimp Crazy” uses home movies, news broadcasts, and archival photos to paint cautionary tales like Travis’s. Raised almost as a human by Sandra Herold and her husband, Travis learned to steer a car and use a microwave. Unfortunately, his savagery towards Charla Nash, which resulted in her face transplant and appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” was a grim turn.

Even after Travis’s attack, Sandra Herold acquired another chimp, seemingly unaware of the lessons she should have learned.

Creating this film was challenging. Post “Tiger King,” Goode knew exotic animal collectors might not welcome him. Leveraging his experience going undercover in southeast Asia and Madagascar, Goode deployed Dwayne Cunningham, a former circus clown, as a proxy director to gain access to the Missouri Primate Foundation, a notorious breeding compound.

Cunningham discovered Haddix, a volunteer protagonist obsessed with chimps. What ensued was a complex, ethically challenging journey. Peta got involved, filing a lawsuit alleging unsuitable living conditions for the chimps and advocating for their relocation to a sanctuary.

When authorities moved to relocate the chimps, Haddix claimed Tonka had died. She even staged fake ashes with a friend’s dead chimp. Ultimately, she was forced to surrender Tonka to Save the Chimps, one of the world’s largest chimp sanctuaries.

Goode empathizes with her loss but acknowledges the necessity of reuniting chimps with others of their kind. Chimpanzees need to be with their own species, just like humans need to be with other people.

“Chimp Crazy” features an unexpected cameo by actor Alan Cumming, who starred with Tonka in “Buddy” and formed a bond with him. Rallying for Tonka’s best interests, he added $10,000 to a reward for information on the chimp’s whereabouts.

Goode remarks how public attitudes towards using animals have evolved over the past few decades. As Haddix watches the film, laughing and crying, Goode ponders, “It’s easy to vilify someone from a distance, but when you spend time with someone, you see things with more grey; it’s less black and white.”

He acknowledges Haddix’s complex situation, stating, “Obviously she couldn’t see or couldn’t see what you and I may see with the chimps in her care – it was probably a very one-sided love affair.”