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animals’ safety and a lawsuit was filed. Specific regards for the welfare of Oliver were later voiced by
Houston SPCA vice president Jorge Ortega in an affidavit, where he claimed that during a visit to the Texas facility he was disturbed by Oliver’s enclosure, describing it as “filthy, too small,” without “meaningful enrichment materials,” and lacking a bucket or bowl for food. Texas Assistant Attorney General Ted Ross argued the long mismanagement of donation funds and understaffing is what led to such detriment.
342:, and inspired the popular and regular segment "Monkey News". The story was also retold on the first series of The Ricky Gervais Show Podcasts. Pilkington's account of Oliver's life story was heavily embellished: He suggested that Oliver lived in a house with a zoo-keeper and his wife, enjoyed brandy and eventually "tried it on" with the zoo-keeper's wife. Co-hosts
152:. Oliver was acquired as a young animal in 1970 by trainers Frank and Janet Berger. Some physical and behavioral evidence led the Bergers to believe Oliver was a creature other than a chimpanzee, perhaps a human-chimpanzee hybrid. Oliver possessed a flatter face than his fellow chimpanzees; was in the habit of walking
210:
Oliver was purchased in 1989 by the
Buckshire Corporation, a Pennsylvania laboratory leasing out animals for scientific and cosmetic testing. His intake examination revealed some previous rough handling. He was never used in experiments, but for the next nine years, his home was a small cage, whose
268:
News of Oliver as well as photos were often posted online by his caregivers, owing to public interest. He took part in regular enrichment activities including a watermelon smashing party documented in the
Friends of Animals online newsletter, and even the chance to paint. Although elderly, Oliver
250:
Oliver remained in the care of
Primarily Primates while the facility went through major renovations. Members of the re-formed board of directors expressed concern for Oliver in court proceedings and in news articles about the ongoing dispute over management of the sanctuary. Ethan Calamusa of the
238:
was alerted by volunteers that animals residing at
Primarily Primates were kept in barren and dirty cages, warranting the visit of a videographer to document the conditions. Additionally, the deaths of two research chimps sent from Ohio State University to stay at PPI raised more concern for the
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of a normal chimpanzee, disproving past rumors that he had 47 (chimpanzees normally have 48 and humans normally have 46). In a separate study, Oliver's cranial morphology, ear shape, freckles, and baldness were found to fall within the range of variability exhibited by the common chimpanzee.
246:
On April 27, 2007, the state of Texas entered into a settlement agreement which removed Lee
Theisen-Watt as overseer of Primarily Primates and replaced her with a board of directors that was headed by Eric Turton and Priscilla Feral. The settlement also dismissed all charges against Primarily
264:
Oliver spent his last years with another chimpanzee, a female known as Raisin. She was placed with Oliver for companionship since Oliver's advanced age and years in the research lab left him arthritic, mostly blind, and unable to interact daily with younger, more playful chimpanzees at the
27:
272:
Oliver died in his sleep and was found on June 2, 2012, with Raisin next to him; he was at least 55 years old. Stephen René Tello, executive director of
Primarily Primates, said that Oliver would be cremated and his ashes would be spread on the grounds of the sanctuary of the primates.
255:
reported that
Friends of Animals was merging with Primarily Primates in order to restructure its management and address past concerns about the future of the sanctuary. Oliver lived out the remainder of his life in the care of the restructured Primarily Primates sanctuary.
242:
In 2006, Oliver was placed in the temporary care of wildlife rehabilitator Lee
Theisen-Watt, who had been court-appointed to oversee Primarily Primates while the state of Texas determined who would ultimately be in charge of the facility.
202:, owned by Ken Decroo, but he was reportedly sold by Decroo in 1985. The last trainer to own Oliver was Bill Rivers. Rivers reported problems with Oliver kissing monkeys residing at the same location.
188:
attraction. When
Enchanted Village closed later that year, Helfer continued exhibiting Oliver in a new venture, Gentle Jungle, which changed locations a few times before finally closing in 1982. The
164:
special, Janet Berger stated that Oliver started to become attracted to her when he reached the age of 16. She and her husband Frank Berger decided to sell Oliver to New York attorney Michael Miller.
231:, which was founded by Wallace Swett in 1978. Older, partially sighted and arthritic, Oliver ended up at a spacious, open-air cage at Primarily Primates Inc. (PPI) in Bexar County, Texas.
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In 2005, just a few years into Oliver’s residency at the sanctuary, legal problems emerged after allegations of animal cruelty arose against the facility. Animal rights organization
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did an extensive article about Oliver as a possible missing link or a new subspecies of chimpanzee. Oliver was transferred to the Wild Animal Training Center in
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to the point that Oliver's limbs trembled. In 1996, Sharon Hursh, president of the Buckshire Corporation, after being petitioned by animal sanctuary
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Primates. Wally Swett was required to leave the property and was prohibited from serving either on the board or as an employee in the future.
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140:. Despite his somewhat unusual appearance and behavior, scientists found that Oliver was not a human-chimpanzee hybrid.
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Ely JJ, Leland M, Martino M, Swett W, Moore CM (1998). "Technical note: chromosomal and mtDNA analysis of Oliver".
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This May 2012 photo provided by Primarily Primates shows a chimpanzee named Oliver painting
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had access to the outdoors and lived the rest of his life in quiet retirement.
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Primarily Primates Newsletter Online. April 2, 2008. Accessed August 20, 2012.
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10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199803)105:3<395::AID-AJPA8>3.0.CO;2-Q
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In 1996, while Oliver was still housed by the Buckshire Corporation, a
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825:: an online video biography of Oliver produced by Primarily Primates.
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June 2, 2012 and accessed via the Friends of Animals Website June 6.
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635:"Lawsuit filed in Oregon latest battle over Texas animal sanctuary"
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Anatomy, behavior, and diseases of chimpanzees (The Chimpanzee
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tested portions of his DNA, and revealed that he had the 48
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by John J. Ely, May 22, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2006.
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In 1977, Oliver's owner, Michael Miller, gave Oliver to
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Chimpanzee falsely promoted as a chimpanzee-human hybrid
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721:
Anonymous (1996). "'Mutant' Chimp Gets Gene Check".
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831:by David J. Daegling. Retrieved December 14, 2006.
637:. Star-Telegram – via primarilyprimates.org.
168:Enchanted Village and other facilities (1977–1989)
124:(c. 1957 – 2 June 2012) was a former "performing"
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658:"Oliver, chimpanzee with humanlike traits, dies"
184:, California, built on the site of the defunct
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330:Oliver was referenced on the second series of
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148:Supposedly, the chimpanzee was caught in the
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608:"Settlement looming for Primarily Primates"
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610:. San Antonio Express-News. Archived from
531:"Primarily Primates - The Story of Oliver"
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753:. Vol. 1. S. Karger. pp. 22–49.
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300:American Journal of Physical Anthropology
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382:"Oliver the chimp dies at Texas refuge"
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227:In 1998, Oliver was transferred to
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789:"Oliver the Humanzee - Pilkipedia"
686:Chimpanzees, Awash in Watermelons!
591:Jordan Smith (December 15, 2006).
576:Jordan Smith (December 15, 2006).
537:from the original on 12 April 2009
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656:Casady, Michelle (June 4, 2012).
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66:Democratic Republic of the Congo
31:Early media photograph of Oliver
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698:Oliver, famed chimpanzee, dies
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186:Japanese Village and Deer Park
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1032:Kasakela chimpanzee community
735:10.1126/science.274.5288.727e
384:. azcentral.com. June 4, 2012
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1072:Mitumba chimpanzee community
306:closely matched that of the
211:restricted size resulted in
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900:List of fictional primates
890:List of individual monkeys
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835:Primate Info Net: Oliver
709:San Antonio Express-News
453:"Oliver's No Gene Genie"
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885:List of individual apes
595:. The Austin Chronicle.
580:. The Austin Chronicle.
465:: 48–49. Archived from
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1449:Individual chimpanzees
558:. Texas Monkey Project
533:. Primarily Primates.
408:Am. J. Phys. Anthropol
336:The Ricky Gervais Show
302:, found that Oliver's
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318:, and other areas of
312:Republic of the Congo
287:University of Chicago
176:, partner in a small
469:on January 27, 2006.
1454:Primates and humans
1180:Charles the Gorilla
822:The Story of Oliver
749:Bourne, GH (1969).
707:reprinted from the
664:. Hearst Newspapers
614:on 17 February 2009
298:, published in the
128:once promoted as a
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1444:2012 animal deaths
1439:1957 animal births
1155:Alfred the Gorilla
871:Notable non-human
703:2012-06-10 at the
505:"Oliver's Travels"
308:central chimpanzee
229:Primarily Primates
217:Primarily Primates
92:Rumors of being a
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593:"Famous Long Ago"
578:"Famous Long Ago"
481:"The Human Chimp"
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130:missing link
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94:missing link
1225:John Daniel
1062:Macaco TiĂŁo
1047:Little Mama
1022:Jo Mendi II
939:Chimpanzees
291:chromosomes
265:sanctuary.
78:San Antonio
1433:Categories
1373:Joe Martin
1335:Orangutans
1037:Kokomo Jr.
929:Panbanisha
798:2023-09-06
774:2023-09-06
562:2007-12-17
541:2009-07-15
516:2021-05-08
366:References
283:geneticist
200:California
182:Buena Park
178:theme park
144:Early life
126:chimpanzee
43:Chimpanzee
1388:Ken Allen
1325:Willie B.
1300:Snowflake
1280:Pattycake
1195:Gargantua
1165:Binti Jua
1102:Panpanzee
285:from the
196:Riverside
158:arthritis
154:bipedally
1147:Gorillas
992:Gregoire
701:Archived
668:March 4,
535:Archived
451:(1999).
354:See also
334:Radio’s
294:Further
134:humanzee
98:humanzee
1363:Chantek
1348:Ah Meng
1295:Shabani
1260:Michael
1205:Harambe
1112:Santino
972:Bubbles
911:Bonobos
723:Science
640:Alt URL
485:YouTube
428:9545080
112:Mate(s)
107:Various
38:Species
1413:Sandra
1358:Bonnie
1290:Samson
1240:Kokomo
1230:Jumoke
1175:Bokito
1137:Washoe
1127:Travis
1122:Sultan
1097:Pankun
1092:Oliver
1052:Loulis
1027:Julius
977:Cheeta
957:Azalea
618:22 May
426:
388:22 May
122:Oliver
115:Raisin
84:, U.S.
20:Oliver
1418:Tonda
1393:Manis
1383:Karta
1378:Karen
1368:Jenny
1343:Abang
1315:Trudy
1310:Titus
1305:Timmy
1275:Ozzie
1270:Ndume
1250:Massa
1245:Louis
1220:Jenny
1215:Jambo
1190:Fatou
1160:Babec
1117:Sarah
1012:Jimmy
1007:Jiggs
982:Congo
962:Bonzo
952:Ayumu
924:Nyota
919:Kanzi
316:Gabon
260:Death
150:Congo
104:Owner
82:Texas
1320:Toto
1285:Pogo
1265:Nico
1235:Koko
1210:Ivan
1185:Colo
1170:Bobo
1132:Viki
1107:Sami
1077:Moja
1057:Lucy
1042:Lana
1017:Jinx
987:Enos
873:apes
670:2015
620:2017
424:PMID
390:2017
346:and
236:PETA
132:or "
72:Died
63:1957
57:Born
52:Male
1408:Sam
1353:Azy
1255:Max
1002:Ham
997:Gua
731:doi
727:274
463:120
416:doi
412:105
332:XFM
96:or
49:Sex
1435::
947:Ai
791:.
767:.
725:.
672:.
660:.
646:^
507:.
493:^
483:.
461:.
455:.
436:^
422:.
410:.
398:^
373:^
322:.
314:,
198:,
80:,
61:c.
864:e
857:t
850:v
801:.
777:.
737:.
733::
622:.
565:.
544:.
519:.
487:.
430:.
418::
392:.
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