Older, partially sighted[6] and arthritic, Oliver ended up at a spacious, open-air cage at Primarily Primates Inc. (PPI) in Bexar County, Texas.

Additionally, the deaths of two research chimps sent from Ohio State University to stay at PPI raised more concern for the animals’ safety and a lawsuit was filed.

[9] 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.

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.

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 Star-Telegram 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.

He took part in regular enrichment activities including a watermelon smashing party documented in the Friends of Animals online newsletter,[13] and even the chance to paint.

[15] 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.