monalisa
04-11-2006, 08:14 PM
Cheeta the chimp, star of a dozen "Tarzan" movies in the 1930s and 1940s,
celebrated his 74th birthday with sugar-free cake. Although healthy and
active, Cheeta is diabetic.
"He had a good time. The party went real good," said keeper Dan Westfall,
operator of the primate sanctuary Creative Habitats and Enrichment for
Endangered and Threatened Apes _ or CHEETA.
Representatives from a Spanish film festival also showed up for Sunday's
party to present Cheeta with the first award of his career _ an
International Comedy Film Festival of Peniscola prize.
Cheeta has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the
world's oldest chimp. Chimps rarely live past the age of 40 in the wild, but
can reach 60 in captivity.
The graying, 150-pound Cheeta, one of six primates at the desert sanctuary
110 miles east of Los Angeles, is very active and "he still has every tooth
in his head," Westfall said Monday.
Asked about his typical day, Westfall said one of Cheeta's favorite
activities is riding around with him in the car. He also likes to paint,
what Westfall calls "ape-stract" pieces that are sold to raise money for the
nonprofit sanctuary.
Westfall adopted Cheeta in 1992 from his uncle Tony Gentry, an animal
trainer who worked in Hollywood and obtained Cheeta from Africa in the
1930s.
(Sorry about the spacing, I just copied and pasted.)
celebrated his 74th birthday with sugar-free cake. Although healthy and
active, Cheeta is diabetic.
"He had a good time. The party went real good," said keeper Dan Westfall,
operator of the primate sanctuary Creative Habitats and Enrichment for
Endangered and Threatened Apes _ or CHEETA.
Representatives from a Spanish film festival also showed up for Sunday's
party to present Cheeta with the first award of his career _ an
International Comedy Film Festival of Peniscola prize.
Cheeta has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the
world's oldest chimp. Chimps rarely live past the age of 40 in the wild, but
can reach 60 in captivity.
The graying, 150-pound Cheeta, one of six primates at the desert sanctuary
110 miles east of Los Angeles, is very active and "he still has every tooth
in his head," Westfall said Monday.
Asked about his typical day, Westfall said one of Cheeta's favorite
activities is riding around with him in the car. He also likes to paint,
what Westfall calls "ape-stract" pieces that are sold to raise money for the
nonprofit sanctuary.
Westfall adopted Cheeta in 1992 from his uncle Tony Gentry, an animal
trainer who worked in Hollywood and obtained Cheeta from Africa in the
1930s.
(Sorry about the spacing, I just copied and pasted.)