Twins Jonah and Jacob were born in Oklahoma at a drive-through wildlife park where they were pulled from their mother and sold to a California trainer for the entertainment business.
They both worked in movies, TV shows, and TV advertisements. When they were only 8 years old… still juveniles… they were considered too old, too big, and too dangerous to continue to be worked in the Hollywood business. So with the aid of the Animal Actors Guild and a small retirement fund, the twins were sent to the Center for Great Apes in August 2004 (one week before Hurricane Charley hit the sanctuary).
Jonah and Jacob now live in a multi-male/multi-female group of seven chimpanzees. As adolescents, both boys are very “macho” and frequently display by stomping around, throwing toys, and kicking cage wire (which is very hard on our enclosures!). But in spite of their sometimes fierce appearance and actions, the twins can also be very sweet and gentle….and often groom their companions.
Jonah enjoys playing with the girls in his group-- especially wrestling with Ellie and Bella. He frequently has the chimpanzee “play face” expression and laughs loudly when Bella tickles him. His best friend, of course, is his brother Jacob.
Both boys like to paint on paper with nontoxic paints. But once, they both got “carried away” with enthusiasm for their artistic expression and ended up painting each other.
Jonah is very talented at our enrichment activity reach treats. This involves using browse or other long sticks to reach treats placed outside their enclosure… and then pulling the treats inside the enclosure to be eaten. His favorite food is pineapple, but Jonah does not like to eat cucumber (sometimes served at lunch). His caregivers must also be careful because Jonah is allergic to strawberries.