Booie, The Smoking Chimpanzee, Dies At 44

LOS ANGELES -- A chimpanzee that kicked a smoking habit and used sign language to beg for candy has died at a California animal refuge.

Martine Colette of the Wildlife WayStation says Booie (BOO'-ee) was being treated for a heart condition when he died Saturday at 44. The chimp had been living at the animal sanctuary near Los Angeles since 1995, after he retired from a research lab.

Colette says she turned Booie into a non-smoker but couldn't fix his sweet tooth. She says he would use his skill to panhandle by signing: "Booie see sweet in pocket."

Booie's death is a serious blow to the financially troubled refuge because he was one of its best fundraisers. Martine says he had fans around the world because of his TV appearances.

___

Online:

Comments

[wonderfullone]

01:11 PM on 12/18/2011

May Booie rest in peace.

[YLS2007]

01:47 PM on 12/17/2011

I hope this serves as a sober reminder to all those teenage chimps trying to be cool by smoking...

[jojobinx]

01:47 AM on 12/17/2011

Who in the world started him smoking- let me guess a lab? I understand we learn through animal testing. However I am 100% against it for reasons like this. We play God to many times IMO

[colin72]

10:54 AM on 12/16/2011

My condolences to the Dell'abate family.

[dpgaff]

02:02 AM on 12/16/2011

I remember reading about him long ago. In the lab. he had a device attached to his face that had a small opening for his mouth. A lit cigarette was fitted into the hole constantly. He breathed through the hole for about ten years without dying. Then they gave up on the experiment and the zoo rescued him. He would have a tantrum when he saw someone smoking. He wouldn't stop until he was given a lit cigarette which he smoked like a pro.

[LudeDude714]

11:50 PM on 12/15/2011

Got him off ciggs and on sweets yet he still lived a full life. Most chimps live 30-40 years even less in the wild. So this smoking chimp with a sweet tooth outlived most of his counterparts in the wild and ones in captivity. I am not condoning smoking but if he enjoyed it let him smoke, George Burns smoked for over 80 years and lived to 100. Still, people should not start smoking or do drugs, remember reality is for people who cannot handle drugs.

[lex19999]

02:15 AM on 12/16/2011

Still, people should not start smoking or do drugs,
Smoking IS doing drugs dahh.

[moral without religion]

10:56 PM on 12/15/2011

And I bet the anti-smoking lobby added him to their statistics of smoking related deaths.

[omegas3]

09:17 PM on 12/15/2011

I wonder if the chimp smoked weed

[bloggdoggy]

10:07 PM on 12/15/2011

On a daily basis if he had any sense.....

[mose joseph workman]

08:36 PM on 12/15/2011

oh, no! the obama administration is going to have a hard time replacing him!

[augcobalt]

09:31 PM on 12/15/2011

LOL!!!

[Aissatou Sunjata]

08:13 PM on 12/15/2011

See, even smoking kills primates. He would have lived longer had he quit! RIP Booie. May the Primate heaven provide you with all the patches and nicotine gums you deserve and never received here on earth.

[talo821]

09:34 PM on 12/15/2011

I don't believe in giving cigarettes to animals. That being said? Saying he would have lived any longer without smoking is not valid here. He lived the same lifespan as a Chimp in the wild, although a shorter one than the AVERAGE in captivity. He was being treated for heart problems. Heart disease can be hereditary, related to diet or dozens of other factors including luck of the draw... and yes, smoking.. but you are drawing a definitive conclusion based on what if's and maybes.

[Aissatou Sunjata]

11:34 PM on 12/15/2011

thanks, and I apologize for the poor attempt at a joke which has been taken far too seriously. As a smoker who awakes each day declaring that I will not light up, it was poor choice of humor. Thank you for your correction and your rather grim information. Enjoy your weekend, if I say more, I may be forced to light up one, just to get over something that was not really all that serious since I don't plan to attend the funeral or place flowers on his grave. Enjoy your wonderful weekend ahead!

[fd909]

06:43 PM on 12/15/2011

Whoa! Can you imagine a 200 lb. ape with a nicotine fit! No thanks...I'll go feed the ducks.

[evilkittiebaby]

08:50 PM on 12/15/2011

yeah I can actually.. a lot of people look like monkeys especially when they're mad lol

[PleaseNoPolitics]

05:59 PM on 12/15/2011

I'm smokin a doobie for booie tonight... RIP

[Jimbo n Ned]

04:22 PM on 12/15/2011

I am really going to miss him. Me and my friends went there like twice a month to toss him a pack of Camel Straights. He always got excited when he saw us approaching. RIP Booie

[evecaren]

03:29 PM on 12/15/2011

It states in the article Booie retired from a research lab. I wonder what kind of research, Booie
was used for ? Using intelligent chimpanzees for research and keeping them in cages is
so wrong.

[JohnFromCensornati]

04:24 PM on 12/15/2011

Lung cancer research?

[evecaren]

06:47 AM on 12/17/2011

Actually, I guessed Booie had been involved in lung cancer research.
Thanks for posting.

[Captain Scarlet]

06:19 PM on 12/15/2011

I agree - when the prisons are full of much better candidates........

[lmb21]

02:06 PM on 12/15/2011

Ba ba booey. Ma ma monkey.