From Center for Great Apes (CGA)

One year ago, we picked up two senior male chimpanzees from a small unaccredited zoo in Oklahoma that was closing down. Both boys were kept alone in different cages after each of their female companions died years earlier.  And they had quite a history!

Joe, captured in Africa as an infant, spent his first few years doing shows at the St. Louis Zoo. He then lived in a safari park in Oklahoma (Arbuckle Wilderness) where he and his mate (Lillian) had a number of babies who were pulled and sold. Five of his offspring were sent to Missouri, New York and California, but four of them eventually ended up here at the Center!  Joe is Murray, Jacob, Jonah, and Ellie’s father!  When the safari park closed, Joe & Lily were sent to a trainer in California but were soon returned to Oklahoma to a roadside zoo where Lily died (and where we picked Joe up). Joe is 47.

Bo was first owned by a Hollywood trainer and sired several offspring who were pulled for the entertainment business. One of those babies (Tonka) worked in live stage shows at a popular Los Angeles tourist attraction and was eventually retired to a Missouri breeder. Tonka is actually the father of another CGA recent sanctuary resident…10-year-old Bentley.  So Bo is Bentley’s grandfather! And guess what? Joe is also Bentley’s grandfather since Joe’s oldest daughter (Tammy) lives with Tonka in Missouri and is Bentley’s mother. Bo is 39.

So, Happy First Anniversary at CGA to Joe and Bo, and Happy Father’s Day to these dear old boys and also to all our human friends and supporters who are dads, grandfathers, and uncles!

To know more about CGA and make donations, click here.