Naman Shrestha
Although the spotlight is on Tonia Haddix and her love for Tonka the chimp, HBO’s ‘Chimp Crazy’ also sheds light on other chimpanzee owners and how their relationships with their respective chimpanzees turned out. One of the intriguing and unsettling cases that the docuseries covers is that of Tamara Brogoitti’s chimpanzee named Buck, who wreaked havoc on her property and severely injured her family member.
Tamara Brogoitti Was the Founder of an Animal Sanctuary in Oregon
Born in the first half of the 1950s, Tamara Brogoitti was the owner of a chimpanzee named Buck, who made the headlines in 2021 for all the wrong reasons. Before she met the chimp, Tamara’s life was quite different. At only 18 years of age, she got married to a man named Robert Wade, who was ten years older than her. Together, the couple welcomed three daughters into the world — April, Katherine, and Heather. Out of them, Heather Ann Wade lost her life at the age of 41 on August 28, 2017, in Camas, Washington.
After the marriage deteriorated, Tamara and Robert parted ways. The former soon met John Alex Brogoitti, who was about 15 years older than her. Born on January 7, 1938, John was a proud redneck who loved animals and instilled the same passion for them in Tamara. In 2004, the couple managed to rescue a chimpanzee from the pet trade and named him Buck. She said, “Buck was the love of John’s life; I didn’t mind playing second fiddle to an ape. Just watching the joy Buck brought to John’s life made me happy.” Unfortunately, she became a widow after the unfortunate demise of John on April 9, 2006.
As a memorial to her late husband, Tamara founded an 800-acre sanctuary called Buck Brogoitti Animal Rescue on the outskirts of Pendleton and served as the Farm Animal Sanctuary Director. In February 2013, she became a member of the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce. As her age took a toll on her and prevented her from devoting the necessary effort to taking care of large animals in the sanctuary, she decided to close Buck Brogoitti Animal Rescue in January 2019. The then-68-year-old woman was forced to transfer her 15 horses to the community Equine Outreach of Eastern Washington in Mesa, Washington.
Tamara’s Decision to Keep Buck Turned Out to be Injurious to Her Daughter
However, Tamara could not give up the animal for whom the sanctuary was named, the chimpanzee Buck, primarily because of what he meant to her late husband, John. In May 2015, a day after her wedding anniversary, she took to social media and wrote something heartwarming for John. She wrote, “Yesterday was my wedding anniversary, I lost John in 2006. I miss him every day! It took years for me to get over being mad at him for dying and leaving me. I’m not sure I would have survived the loss had I not channeled my energy into founding the Sanctuary and working to end the suffering of animals. I encourage anyone who has experienced loss to focus on something other than themselves. I am never alone; the animals need me every day.”
In 2021, something unexpected and horrific happened to Tamara and her eldest daughter, April Gilbo. On January 20, 2021, Buck brutally attacked April and bit her limbs and torso. Managing to seek refuge in a basement bedroom of the property with her 50-year-old daughter, Tamara chose to save her life and gave the police the order to put down the chimp. After the traumatic incident, Tamara ensured to give due credit to the deputy who shot Buck and saved the life of her daughter.
Tamara Brogoitti Plans to Promote Veganism and Prevent Animal Torture
Tamara Brogoitti’s views on animals haven’t changed at all, even after the one she trusted the most tried to take the life of her daughter. Currently residing on 870 acres in Eastern Oregon, the 70-year-old widow plans “to build a vegan family.” In order to make an impact, she is ready to share her land with other interested vegans. She was clear about her plans in the Facebook post she published on the Vegan America Community. She clarified, “This is a rodeo town, haven’t met any other vegans, it’s very lonely. I don’t need a caretaker, that’s covered. What I am longing for is like minded company. Folks that would enjoy gardening and the outdoors. I hold on to the hope that together we might be able to expose the nearby community to veganism.”
She elaborated, “I do not farm the land other than the raised bed vegetable garden, I let the land rest. There are dear, a few wild turkeys, coyotes, a large number of rabbits and on occasion a cougar. In the fall I spend time on the four-wheelers posting no hunting signs on the perimeter fencing.” She also warned anyone who might be willing to join her. “Be aware we do not have an existing vegan community. When you venture into the town, you will be interacting with the Reddest Necks in the state. I am hoping to find couples, not sure a single person would be happy,” she wrote.
Read More: April Brogoitti: Where is the Chimp Attack Survivor Now?
