Alan Cumming is offering a $10,000 reward for his missing chimpanzee co-star. Fans will remember Tonka from their time together in Buddy back in 1997. From there, the two have found a bond that lasted. However, Tonka was in a Missouri facility for breeding chimpanzees and has fallen missing. PETA has also entered this situation with a $10,000 reward of their own. Missouri Primate Foundation in Festus, Missouri has no information on what happened to Tonka. But, you can bet amateur internet sleuths will try and crack the case, especially because the reward involved is nothing to sneeze at. However, for Cumming, this is more about getting his friend back than the money. It’s been a while since Buddy, other stars from the film have come forward to highlight the case. Here’s what the actor told Variety about the incident.
“During the months we filmed together, baby Tonka and I became good friends, playing and grooming each other and just generally larking about,” Cumming said in a statement. “It’s horrible to think he might 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 claim the reward.”
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Here’s what PETA had to say, “Owner Tonia Haddix claimed that [Tonka] had ‘died,’ but told various stories that didn’t add up and failed to prove that this was the case. She had previously stated that PETA would never get him. In January, a judge found that mystery surrounds the primate’s disappearance and that Haddix’s testimony was not credible, leaving PETA and Cumming to try to determine his whereabouts or perhaps his final resting place.”
“If you know where Cumming’s former co-star may have been shipped, sold or hidden away, PETA wants to hear from you,” PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet wrote. “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.”
Tips are being accepted at PETA at 757-622-PETA or you can submit tips online at PETA.org/Tonka.
Do you think you could solve the case? Let us know down in the comments!
