caleb20003
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I never knew about Sam!
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Bubbles was born in a biomedical laboratory, but taken from his mother and sold to a Hollywood trainer while still an infant. He was purchased for Michael Jackson and soon gained fame as Jackson's pet chimpanzee. He appeared in television shows, movies, and music videos before he “retired” at age 6 or 7. When Bubbles was only 5, he toured Japan in a promotional tour with Michael Jackson. While there, he sat in on interviews with Jackson and "moonwalked" for the press. But, as he grew too strong to be around people, he lived most of his life at the trainer’s California animal compound in the company of an older chimpanzee named Sam. Both Bubbles and Sam arrived at the Center for Great Apes in March 2005 with a large group of chimpanzees, all from the entertainment world.
As a 170-pound adult male, Bubbles still lives with Sam (age 40) as well as five other chimpanzees at the sanctuary -- Oopsie, Boma, Jessie, Kodua, & little Bobby-Stryker.
Bubbles has a broad, handsome face and a lot of charisma. Though he is able to throw sand with amazing accuracy, he is extremely gentle with the youngsters, especially infant Stryker. In fact, the baby can often be seen riding around on Bubbles’ back.
Bubbles can be sensitive and dramatic. If he has any kind of cut or scratch on his body…no matter how small… he will show it many times during the day to his caregivers and ask for sympathy.
When Bubbles first arrived, he would not climb up to the top of his 35-foot tall habitat. He appeared to be nervous about the height and would sit on the ground and stare up at the others in his group while they played high up in the cupola. Then, one day after he had been at the sanctuary for about 5 months, he suddenly climbed up to the top and gave a loud chimp call. Now it’s one of his favorite places, and he goes to the top to play several times a day.
http://www.centerforgreatapes.org/residents-details.aspx?id=6
