Friends of the Zoo

Charlie	Judy

Charlie arrived in the Bloemfontein Zoo during 1984. He was raised in a circus environment and was sent to us from a circus in Dallas, Texas. Due to his roots, in Dallas, Texas, the zoo staff wanted to name him “JR”. Unfortunately the Assistant Director: Parks at that time had the same initials, so the idea was scrapped. His exact date of birth is unknown, but he was born between 1960 and 1962. Making him between 47-49 years old. He often spits at visitors, especially when he is in his sleeping quarters and is being teased. He will go out to his water trough, get a mouthful of water, and return to the unsuspecting victims and spits at them. If he cannot get to the water trough he uses his own urine. He will often throw objects at visitors standing around his enclosure, and is a natural “leftie”. His aim is quite good and often hits his target.  If there are no stones to throw he will often throw food items. As he does not particularly like potatoes they are his first choice. He will also throw apples or oranges, but never tomatoes as they are his favourite.  He shared his enclosure with Annie, who passed away during 1995 due to complications from old age, ventually leading to kidney failure.  Charlie has been with Judy since 1996, but have never fathered any offspring from either females. 

Judy was born in 1970 (also no exact date, but between 1969 and 1970), so she is between 39 and 41 years old).  She was raised with Dutch private owners who treated her as their human child.  She wore dresses, cycled on a tricycle and slept in a regular bed.  She was not afraid of water, and even swam with the family in their pool.  When she became an adolescent the power struggle began, and the family chose to take her to Stichting AAP (an exotic animal sanctuary in Almere, Netherlands) instead of euthanizing which was the second option.  She stayed in a small group consisting of two males and two females. There were no offspring.  She was donating to the Bloemfontein zoo by Stichting AAP during 1996.

The chimps are fed twice daily outside in the morning and indoors in the late afternoon. They are closed up indoors during the nights, this makes cleaning the outside enclosure daily easier. The indoor area is heated for the winter months.  They are fed a mixture of fruit and vegetables and occasionally cooked chicken and even pieces of raw meat.  As they are both old chimps there condition is monitored regularly and attention given to any ailments or problems.  Charlie has got bad teeth, but the risks of immobilizing him at this age for a long period to work on his teeth are too great. He may suffer serious damage to his heart or other organs.  Judy has also been known to puff on a cigarette at times.  They are not addicted to cigarettes or nicotine, so medication is being given to “wean” them from their addiction. They only smoke when presented to them.  Their diet has been worked out specifically for them, so the public are requested to please refrain from throwing them any sweets, chocolates, etc. It upsets their digestive system and causes them discomfort.  If (with permission) the chimps are fed by the public (eg: at a zoo snooze) then fruit, vegetable and dry bread is allowed. No leftover braai meat or bones.  Charlie hates the music festivals held on Loch Logan, and sits banging his door for hours on end out of frustration.