Artistically gifted How Michael Jackson's chimpanzee is doing today
Michael Jackson loved animals - and especially Bubbles the chimpanzee. Today, the 41-year-old ape lives in a primate park. The online portal TMZ asked his caretaker how he is doing.
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- Bubbles became world-famous as Michael Jackson's chimpanzee. He traveled around the world with the King of Pop and could even dance the "moonwalk".
- Today, the 41-year-old animal lives in the Center for Great Apes primate park in the US state of Florida.
- "Bubbles is living a good life as an older primate," says Patti Ragan, the park's founder.
It was June 25, 2009, 15 years ago today, when the online portal TMZ sounded the alarm.
A short time later, it was confirmed: US media, citing coroners in Los Angeles, reported that Michael Jackson had died.
During the King of Pop 's lifetime, his chimpanzee Bubbles was almost as famous as his owner himself. The relationship was so close that artist Jeff Koons immortalized the duo in a gold-plated porcelain statue.
"Bubbles leads a good life as an elderly primate"
Bubbles was born in 1983 in a biomedical research laboratory in Austin, Texas, before Michael Jackson took him in. Today, the 41-year-old chimpanzee lives at the Center for Great Apes primate park in the US state of Florida.
The US online portal TMZ asked how the chimpanzee is doing today - and can report positive news: "Bubbles is leading a good life as an older primate."
"Although he's photogenic, it's hard to take pictures of Bubbles because he doesn't like the camera," the Center for Great Apes website continues.
He is a gentle and artistic representative of his species. Every now and then, however, Bubbles spits water at strangers or throws sand at them "just to see how they react".
"Bubbles shows no signs of previous abuse"
According to Patti Ragan, founder of the Center for Great Apes, Bubbles enjoys having fun with his fellow apes and exploring the tunnel system. He is also said to be artistically inclined. The animal occasionally picks up a paintbrush to paint pictures.
According to TMZ, the costs of caring for Bubbles (around 27,000 dollars a year) are borne by the "Estate of Michael Jackson" organization.
Michael Jackson's fans are always giving gifts to the monkey. The animal is visited by Jackson's former lawyer and some family members.
In the past, there were repeated rumors about alleged violent attacks on Bubbles when he was still living on Jackson's Neverland Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley in the US state of California.
According to the operators of the Center for Great Apes, this cannot be confirmed. "Bubbles shows no signs of previous abuse," the TMZ report states.