Chimp Crazy

Monkey love is totally different

than the way that you have love for your child.

If it's your natural born child, it's just natural because you actually,

you know, gave birth to that kid.

But when you adopt a monkey, the bond is much, much deeper.

Baby, hey, look at you. What are you doing?

- Hey. - Hey.

Human children are meant to grow up

and build bonds with other people in society.

But not chimpanzees.

Look at that little chimp.

Their mother is their whole life.

And that primate feels that way about you, because you become their mother.

I'm sorry, there is nothing like holding, loving,

being around a chimp.

Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle...

It's the best thing since peanut butter.

I can't explain it,

'cause it's like something that you just don't ever feel.

It's so empowering.

They are just like us.

Especially Tonka.

Kiss.

Thank you. He's a good boy, a good boy.

Tonka and I just found each other.

And Tonka loved me as much as I love Tonka.

It was meant to be, it was just natural.

It's like your love for God.

And I'll do anything to protect that primate, anything.

A fight over chimpanzees should be over.

The chimpanzee lady now making national news.

They're gonna have to bring sheriffs and they're gonna have

to bring everything that they can.

I would give anything that I have possession-wise up

for that child.

I would give my life for him.

And that's exactly what I did, to be honest.

There it is.

No, stop it. It's okay.

My dad asked me what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

I said, I wanna be the world's most famous chimpanzee trainer.

- How old were you? - Seven.

My ancestors were all circus people.

So, I couldn't just have one chimp, you know?

You had to have at least three, because then it was an act.

Chimps have a very long life. They have the same lifespan that we do.

So, I picked the right trade.

I'm still performing with my chimps.

Thank you very much!

Chimps are amazing.

They can do just about anything they want to

because they have our intelligence.

They're calculating, they watch every move you make.

They learn to read people. They know what you say.

Every word you say, they understand it.

Somebody's trying to get a beer on the back of the truck here.

No! Don't do that.

Punch. Punch! Punch!

They are 98.4 human DNA.

So, therefore, they are our closest living relative.

They're my kids.

And they're always gonna be my kids.

Years ago, I had a baby chimp born two months premature.

Premature baby chimps cannot digest formula.

And he wasn't doing good.

He was dying.

But I just had my daughter, Dallas, so I did what came natural.

He's a baby that needs feeding, feed it, you know?

I come in one day

and she's got Dallas on one booby and the chimp on the other.

And I go, "Whoa, what are you doing?"

I really didn't know what I was doing.

And then, to have two of 'em it's like twins, really.

Next thing you know, it's in the "Enquirer,"

and then "Star," and oh, my God. "Baby chimp saved by breastfeeding mum."

One for you and one for you.

He was very gentle. He was very kind.

No, this is the same.

We were like brother and sister so much

that the instant that a boy would like me, he knew and he would be mean to that boy.

He would throw poop at him.

I can't imagine my life without him. It would have been very different.

Monkey, monkey, monkey!

To me, they're my life.

They're my life's love. They were my first love.

I wouldn't want to have my life without a chimp in it.

I love you. I love you with everything I got.

Go ahead, you can have your drink.

Yes!

For a long time, it was Connie Casey. She has chimpanzees.

But it's too bad, because it's the end of a dynasty.

She lives in Festus, Missouri and she doesn't want the attention.

Missouri is one of the few states

where you can do pretty much anything with animals.

There are exotic animal auctions

and very few restrictions on the kinds of things

that are not allowed elsewhere,

including what Connie Casey was doing big time,

which was breeding chimpanzees at her enclave,

Missouri Primate Foundation.

Back in 2010, I was the last journalist

who talked with Connie.

Oh, yeah. Oh, sure.

I've been documenting exotic animal people for over 15 years.

This is the monkey's closet.

So this is formal wear.

The monkeys have more clothing than I have.

- Really? - Yeah.

- Are you sure? - Really, yeah.

I don't have this many shirts.

Ay, que linda.

Exotic animal people are generally distrustful

of outsiders.

I've been an animal person my entire life, so gaining access to this community

has been pretty easy for me.

But this time, it's different.

In 2020, I made "Tiger King."

And do you wear these yourself?

I don't wear underwear.

- You don't wear underwear? - No, free ball it.

"Tiger King" shined a spotlight on this community

and it wasn't favorable.

That's a brand-new shirt.

And now, people like Connie Casey,

for the most part, don't want anything to do with me.

- Hey. - Hey.

I'm on the road to Connie Casey's.

I don't know, this doesn't look too friendly.

I think I'm gonna go

and think about this for a minute.

So, for this project, I had to hire a proxy director

to go undercover.

Alright, so listen.

I'll follow you guys.

- Okay. - But I'll be discreet.

- You won't see... - My car's discreet, okay?

- Okay. - Alright.

This is our exit.

- See this fence? - Yep!

- Yep, that's it. - That's it.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

How are you?

- 3:30, you said? - Yeah, 3:30.

Hello?

Can you hear me?

Well, I'm Tonia Haddix.

Basically, I'm a nurse from St. Louis, Missouri.

I came down here to Missouri Primate Foundation

to help Connie Casey preserve the chimpanzees

that she still held.

Connie is a legacy. She has a legacy that is greater

than anybody could ever, ever imagine.

She is a world-renowned chimp person, basically responsible for three-quarters

of the captive-bred chimps

that are here in the United States currently.

So, I don't know where your best view would be to film,

is what I guess I'm asking.

There's Connie now.

No, wait.

I don't want her overwhelmed with everything.

Hey, you come here.

I know I don't know your name, and I know that sounds rude.

Connie, I'm Dwayne Cunningham. It's a pleasure and honor to meet you.

We just thought people needed to hear your story,

and at the very least we can get it out in the court of public opinion.

Maybe you have the wrong credentials

for a million things, but for this, Dwayne,

it's almost like not playing a role at all 'cause you know this world.

You have no idea.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum...

I went to Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey

Circus Clown College, class of 1975.

I got to work with their animals every day.

And then I became involved in the animal industry

for pretty much my entire life.

Hi, I'm Dr. Wasabi, and I know what you're thinking.

"Penguins?"

Also, I've had a relationship

with the federal government over exotic animals.

So, when you called me and said,

"Be the point person, get inside and see what was going on,"

I mean, that's right up my alley.

- You're gonna look great. - Oh, thank you.

Once they knew my background,

they weren't skeptical of my presence.

- I don't wanna be on camera. - Sure.

At that point, it seemed like Connie Casey was like, exhausted.

Exhausted physically, exhausted mentally.

But Tonia comes in, and the more I listened to her...

...the more I thought, "It's a love story."

She does really good work.

Her stuff looks natural instead of it looking really crazy.

'Cause I could go crazy, you guys know that.

Everybody compares me to Dolly.

I don't know why. But they do.

I'm the Dolly Parton of the chimps.

Or I'm the crazy monkey lady. Whatever.

I owned capuchin monkeys for about 20 years.

I love the capuchins, but I had always wanted a chimp.

A chimp's even way better than a capuchin.