My Character
Creative, Quiet, Bashful

My Birthday
December 19, 1995

My Story

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 who normally would have been with his mother for five more years, was trained to do several “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 walking upright, Louie still retains this mode of movement when moving around his habitat or through the chute system.

While at Universal Studios, Louie lived most of his days 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 in his backstage cage for three more years before coming to the Center for Great Apes in 2005.

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, Bam Bam. 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.


Watch Me Play