14 DAY TRIAL // Following Michael Jackson's death, several of his pets found themselves abandoned in various animal sanctuaries, simply because the singer's family were unable to continue looking after them.
One of these pets was Bubbles the chimpanzee, which is currently living at an animal sanctuary in Wauchula, Florida.
Despite its being quite famous back in the '90s (i.e. it made an appearance in the promo video for Bad and traveled with the singer to Japan), Bubbles now finds himself pretty much forgotten by both Michael Jackson's family and his fans.
Daily Mail says that Bubbles was born in a biomedical laboratory, and used to belong to a Hollywood trainer prior to its ending up in an animal testing laboratory in Texas. It was from this laboratory that Michael Jackson rescued it.
The chimpanzee is now 27 years old, and despite its never getting any visits from anybody, it appears to be rather enjoying life amongst others of its kind.
“It is a world away from the life he once knew, but Bubbles seems all the happier for it. It’s just sad that no one visits,” a spokesperson for the Center for Great Apes animal sanctuary reportedly told members of the press.
“He is exceptionally well-looked after by the sanctuary but has effectively been abandoned by the Jacksons, despite their vast wealth. Michael’s sister La Toya paid a visit here about two years ago but that’s the only visit we have had from a member of the Jackson family,” the spokesperson went on to argue.
Bubbles has been living at this animal sanctuary since 2005, when he was moved here because of concerns that he might harm Prince Michael.
Those in charge of looking after it explain that raising the $13,000 needed each year in order to provide it with proper care is no easy matter, but that it is all worth it.
Bubbles reportedly spends his days listening to music, watching TV and eating sweet potatoes.