The world has been mourning the death of a famous chimpanzee who died on Christmas Eve at the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Florida.
The sanctuary’s outreach director, Debbie Cobb, 51, claims that the dead chimp was the famed Cheetah who starred in Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan in the 1930’s.
Skeptics include a chimpanzee expert from Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. Steve Ross actually burst out laughing at the notion that Cheetah was an octogenarian. He said, “To say 80 is really pushing it. There has never been a chimp that has lived that long.” According to his detailed files, the current record holder is in her early 70s.
Author R.D. Rosen, author of a 2008 Washington Post article titled Lie of the Jungle, also debunked the age claim after an extensive investigation. “The idea that this Cheetah could have appeared in these films, had this long career, and now had this wonderful retirement is ridiculous.”
The chimpanzee’s owner, Dan Westfall, admits that the Hollywood legend surrounding his primate is murky at best. “After Mr. Rosen did his research, we found that we really don’t know.”
Author Rosen has turned his chimp expose into a just-finished book that is titled Chump.
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