![]() Though Oliver's health may have been compromised by being kept for long periods of time under unsatisfactory conditions prior to his arrival at Primarily Primates, he has barely exceeded half the usual lifespan of captive Common Chimpanzees which survive to adulthood. Oliver was in the temporary care of wildlife rehabilitator Lee Theisen-Watt, who had been appointed to oversee Primarily Primates while the state of Texas determined who would ultimately be in charge of the facility. Scientists performed further studies with Oliver, the results of which were published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Oliver's cranial morphology, ear shape, freckles and baldness fall within the range of variability exhibited by the Common Chimpanzee. Genetic testingĪ geneticist from the University of Chicago examined Oliver's chromosomes in 1996 and revealed that Oliver had forty-eight, not forty-seven, chromosomes, thus disproving the earlier claim that he did not have a normal chromosome count for a chimpanzee. Older, partially sighted and arthritic, in 1998 Oliver ended up at a spacious, open-air cage at Primarily Primates the sanctuary's director at the time also decided to resolve the question of Oliver's taxonomy. ![]() In 1996, Sharon Hursh, president of the Buckshire Corporation, after being petitioned by Primarily Primates, an organization founded by Wallace Swett in 1978, allowed his retirement in Buckshire's colony of 13 chimpanzees. He was never used in experiments, but for the next nine years, his home was a small cage, whose restricted size resulted in muscular atrophy to the point that Oliver's limbs trembled. His entrance examination revealed some previous rough handling. The Buckshire Corporation, a Pennsylvanian laboratory leasing out animals for scientific and cosmetic testing, purchased Oliver in 1989. ![]() Rivers reported problems with Oliver not getting along with other chimps. The last trainer to own Oliver was Bill Rivers. Oliver was transferred to the Wild Animal Training Center at Riverside, California, owned by Ken Decroo, but he was allegedly sold by Decroo in 1985. The Los Angeles Times did an extensive article about Oliver as a possible missing link or new sub-species of chimp. 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. In 1977 Oliver's owner gave him to Ralph Helfer, partner in a small theme park called Enchanted Village in Buena Park, California, USA, built on the site of the defunct Japanese Village and Deer Park amusement attraction. After he tried it several times it became apparent that Oliver was a threat to Janet, and had to be sold. He mounted her and tried to mate with her. During a DecemDiscovery Channel special, Janet Berger herself claimed that Oliver was becoming attracted to her when he reached the age of 16. Some physical and behavioral evidence led the Bergers to believe Oliver was a creature other than a chimpanzee, perhaps a human-chimp hybrid: Oliver possesses a flatter face than his fellow chimpanzees Oliver was habitually bipedal (before being struck with arthritis), never walking on his knuckles like his chimpanzee peers and Oliver may have preferred human females over chimpanzee females. Supposedly, the chimpanzee had been caught in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo). Oliver was acquired as a young animal (around 2 years old ) in 1960 by trainers Frank and Janet Berger.
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