№ 12 · TRIVIA
Bubbles, the Chimp
Rescued from a Texas lab, 1985
MICHAEL JACKSON
The King of Pop
★ COMMON
№ 12 TRIVIA
Bubbles, the Chimp
Bubbles was not bought as a status symbol. Michael rescued him as a three-year-old chimpanzee from a cancer-research facility at the University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Centre. The two were close companions for five years before Bubbles's adult strength forced his retirement to a Florida sanctuary, where he is still alive.
▶ THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson and Bubbles in Japan (1987 NHK footage)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpESt_GZBhE
MICHAEL JACKSON · B·SIDE · VOL.I
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THE FACT
Bubbles was not bought as a status symbol. Michael rescued him as a three-year-old chimpanzee from a cancer-research facility at the University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Centre. The two were close companions for five years before Bubbles's adult strength forced his retirement to a Florida sanctuary, where he is still alive.
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
Bubbles was born in 1983 and arrived at Neverland in 1985. He travelled to Japan with Michael on the Bad world tour, sat in on board meetings (literally — there are photographs), drank chai with the mayor of Osaka, and used the same private bathroom as Michael at the Neverland house. By the time he was eight, Bubbles was approaching adult chimpanzee strength — adults are 5–10× stronger than humans, and routinely injure their keepers — so in 1995 Michael paid to permanently transfer him to the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida. As of 2025 Bubbles is 42 years old, weighs about 175 lbs, and reportedly enjoys painting (his canvases sell at auction for thousands of dollars to support the sanctuary). The Center's founder Patti Ragan has said he never showed signs of stress or trauma typical of ex-Hollywood chimps and 'remembers music' — he reacts visibly when classical or pop is played near his enclosure.
▶
THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson and Bubbles in Japan (1987 NHK footage) — The pair sharing tea with the mayor of Osaka during the Bad tour.