Louie
born
December 19, 1995
For the first year of his life, Louie (formerly named Bubba) lived at the Miami tourist attraction Parrot Jungle & Gardens. When he was only eleven months old, Bubba-Louie was sold by the owner to a Los Angeles trainer for work in the animal show at the Universal Studios tourist attraction.
While still a
tiny infant that should have been with his mother for several more
years, Louie was permanently kept in the backstage area of the
Universal Studios animal show while he was trained to do four or
five “live shows” a day for the tourists.
Louie was
trained to walk upright onto the stage and off again after his
act, eliciting laughter from the audience due to the awkwardness
of this unnatural posture for an orangutan. Today, after many
years of being made to walk upright, Louie still retains this
abnormal mode of movement and looks peculiar moving around his
habitat or through the chute system in this unnatural fashion.
While at
Universal Studios, Louie lived most of his days alone in a single
cage in the backstage area of the animal show. When he was seven,
he became too strong for the trainers to safely handle, so his
show days were ended, and he remained alone in his small cage for
three more years before coming to the Center for Great Apes.
Bubba-Louie
is a very sweet and shy orangutan. Now in his adolescence, he
enjoys playing with the other orangutans at the Center. His best
friend and constant companion is the juvenile male, BamBam. Both
boys tumble, wrestle, tickle, and chase each other through the
woods in the chute system.
Louie loves
bubble baths and fastidiously washes everything in sight,
including himself. He also enjoys coloring with chalk. His
favorite foods are fruits, but he also likes a variety of leafy
greens like collards, bok choy, and kale.