Chimpanzee
HI, MY NAME IS TOM
Date of birth: 1980 approx
Place of birth: possibly Cameroon
Date of arrival at MONA: June 13, 2011
Subspecies: Pan troglodytes ellioti
Acquired in the 1990s with another female, Bea, by her former owner. She obtained them legally through an intermediary who bought them from a circus when they were about 10 years old, because they were no longer fit for performance. Nothing is known about their life in the circus, but it is suspected that they may have been born in the jungle.
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ABOUT TOM
His past
After his misery in the circus, he lived for about 20 years in a cage that his next owner had built in his garden, in a town near Girona. Tom did not live alone, there were also two females, Coco and Bea, but he was not always with them, as he sometimes attacked them out of frustration or boredom. That is why he was the first of the three to arrive at MONA. His former owner, after meeting on several occasions with wildlife experts from FAADA and MONA, agreed to hand them over, thinking about the well-being of the primates.
Relaxed at the top of one of its towers
That look...
His present
He is still a nervous chimpanzee, who gets overexcited easily, but he has improved a lot since he arrived. We started with his associations with the old male group “Els Mascles”, but without success, because both Marco and Bongo rejected him. So since 2013 he has been an integral part of the Bilinga group, where he enjoys life in the company of his fellows.
His social life
Since he has a more relaxed life and has learned to control his emotions, we can say that he has become a happy chimpanzee, a friend of his friends. He acts as a leader of the group, although he always tries to avoid Nico, who instils him a lot of respect. For the rest, he enjoys his new life.
Tom likes
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Grooming sessions
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The sun
Sometimes he performs impressive displays of strength, energetically running throughout the installation. In case any visitor still had doubts about why these pets shouldn’t be kept.
Tom has a distinctive feature that makes him special: his eyelashes are light-colored, and they stand out against his face when his eyes are closed.
Tom's group: Bilinga
Nico
He is the first non-human primate diagnosed with Chiari Syndrome and this makes him very special.
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Victor
At MONA he finally learned to live with others of his species, after 24 years alone.
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Tom
He was bought from a circus when he was about ten years old because he was no longer fit to perform.
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Cheeta
She impresses everyone who meets her. She is a huge chimpanzee, even larger than many males, but with a very sweet face.
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