'Tarzan's chimpanzee' Cheetah dies aged 80 in Florida

Nooooooooooooooooo!

This fella was the first Chimp I ever saw when I was around 3 and I loved his films.
Also what a dude of a Chimp he chucked poop at you if he didnt like you...sigh if only I could get away with that
Anyhow 80 wow you had a great innings Chimp dude RIP Cheetah

www.bbc.co.uk...

reply to post by boymonkey74


The screen name and avatar makes it readily apparent why you cared enough to post this. Thank you for doing so anyway. I think that's pretty cool that a chimp lived that long in captivity. That's a rare thing. Perhaps the poop throwing helped relieve some of the stress that normally makes chimps in cages die at about half that age.

reply to post by boymonkey74

reply to post by LightSpeedDriver

Wow thansk for that dude
Ape-stract art


But wow this fella has done more stuff in his life than most, what a strange and wonderful life he had
Once again cheers for the vid xx

reply to post by boymonkey74
I am sorry to hear that.they are heroes just like humans.

reply to post by boymonkey74


I never in my life would of thought such a life was possible for anyone, yet alone an ape. godspeed cheetah! and the guy in the video much respect! he took on all the elder primates on his own dime and gave a great effort.

80

...years of life is more then many humans can dream to live and play in movies,I hope they will be more protected in the future from their only enemy,the humans.

Are you aware that "Timba...not eat for two, three day, maybe"?

There is some question that this is true. Records were lost. Chimps don't live for 80 years. Here's an article from the Seattle Times that casts some doubt on the claim.

reply to post by schuyler


Considering he had the best healthcare a chimp can have and because we have only been studying Chimps for 50 years or so, he may have lived that long.
But who knows eh? he may be the real Cheeta he may not be but I think storys like this one can lighten up a dark day so lets just think about the Chimp who died and did a many great things for Apekind

Im just shocked they live so long.Those movies were made in the 30's.Every human in those films are loooong dead.Most interesting thread ive read today.Thanks OP.

reply to post by boymonkey74


I agree that it is a cool story. Unfortunately it's falling apart as we speak. This article is originally from the Los Angeles Times:

LOS ANGELES — Cheetah was a scene-stealing sidekick — this much is true.

But news that he died in a Florida sanctuary Christmas Eve at the ripe old age of 80, after a career spent starring in "Tarzan" movies, is raising plenty of questions that would have Cheetah scratching his head and looking quizzically into the camera.

Author R.D. Rosen wrote in a 2008 Washington Post article that pretty much everything we think we know about Cheetah is a big, fat, furry lie. Such as the oft-published tale about the original Cheetah: Legend has it he was born in Liberia and smuggled into the United States beneath an animal trainer's overcoat. But the critter — clad only in a diaper — made a run for it during the flight. Before the plane landed, he had entertained the masses and was hand-fed a bottle and rocked by delighted flight attendants.

The story is priceless, only it's not true, said Rosen, who discovered with a little research that trans-Atlantic commercial airline service didn't begin until 1939.

I guess there is enough doubt that it MIGHT be true, and perhaps that's enough. Makes me want to go back and watch those old movies.