From: John Berndt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'>
Subject: Cheetah Diabetic
Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 08:58:32 -0400
To start your days off on the right foot:
Tarzan chimp celebrates 74th birthday in SoCal desert
Monday, April 10, 2006
(04-10) 11:42 PDT Palm Springs, Calif. (AP)
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 Sundays 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 worlds 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 Cheetas 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.
Online: http://www.cheetathechimp.org
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