Michael Jackson and Bubbles

Bubbles (born 1983) is a common chimpanzee, known for being the one-time pet of American recording artist Michael Jackson, who adopted the primate from a Texas research facility in the early 1980s. The animal was a frequent travel companion to the singer, whose attachment to the animal led to media mockery and, among other factors, to a public perception of Jackson as an eccentric. During the Bad World Tour, for example, Jackson brought Bubbles with him to Japan, where they both drank tea with the mayor of Osaka. Bubbles was initially kept at the Jackson family's Encino, Los Angeles, California, home, but was moved to Neverland Ranch in 1988. There, he slept in a crib in Jackson's bedroom, used the singer's toilet, and ate candy in the Neverland movie theater. It was later revealed in 2003 that Bubbles had matured into an aggressive adult chimp unsuitable as a companion animal. He was sent to a California animal sanctuary, where he was reported to have attempted suicide. When the sanctuary closed in 2004, Bubbles was moved to the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida, where he has been kept for several years. Bubbles was born in the early 1983 in an Austin, Texas research facility that bred primates for animal testing. There are conflicting reports as to how he came into Jackson's possession. CNN reports that Jackson had Bubbles bought for him when the chimpanzee was eight

onths old. The acquisition was said to have been supervised by Bob Dunn, one of Hollywood's most famous suppliers and trainers of animals for films, photo-shoots, and advertisements. Contradictory to this claim, The Daily Telegraph states that Jackson acquired Bubbles from a cancer research center in Texas when the chimpanzee was three years old. [edit]Life at Neverland Ranch Bubbles was kept at the Jackson family's Encino home until 1988 when he was moved to Jackson's newly acquired Neverland Ranch. There, the chimpazee slept in a crib in the singer's bedroom, ate candy in the Neverland movie theater, was fed at the dining table, wore a diaper, and relieved himself in Jackson's personal toilet. At Jackson's 2005 People v. Jackson trial, jurors learned from a videotaped interview with the singer that his several chimpazees would help him with housekeeping chores. "They run around, help me clean the room. They help me dust, clean the window," the singer stated. At the same trial, Jackson's maids testified that they were not impressed with the behavior of the various animals that the singer had kept over the years. One housekeeper told of how she had to clean up the droppings of one of the chimpanzees, after it had hurled its feces at the bedroom wall. Another maid described a chimpanzee called Max tearing off his diaper before crawling into Jackson's bed