Has the Real Cheetah Died?
Dec. 29, 2011
Cheetah, a chimpanzee that starred with former Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller in a number of Tarzan movies in the 1930′s, died on December 24 at about the age of 80, the Tampa Tribune has reported. His death was announced by Debbie Cobb, the outreach director at the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Florida, where Cheetah had lived for many years. According to Ms. Cobb, the sanctuary received Cheetah from Weissmuller’s estate in Ocala, Florida, in around 1960. But a number of animal experts cast doubt on the report. They argued that chimpanzees living in captivity rarely survive beyond age 60.
Jane Goodall, an English zoologist, uncovered many similarities between human beings and chimpanzees through years of observation. Breese, Gamma/Liaison
Another star of the Tarzan films of the 1930′s, Maureen O’Sullivan, hated Cheetah. According to O’Sullivan’s daughter, actress Mia Farrow, Cheetah “bit her at every opportunity.” In fact, a number of chimps played the role of Cheetah in Weismuller’s Tarzan movies.
Additional World Book article
- Ape
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Back in Time 1924 (Olympic Games)
- Back in Time 1928 (Olympic Games)
- Jane Goodall
