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Today, Zoo Miami celebrated milestone birthdays for two iconic chimpanzees who have called the zoo home since the early 1980’s. Samantha arrived at Zoo Miami (then known as Miami Metrozoo) in November of 1981 from a private individual. Bubbles followed shortly thereafter in March of 1982, as part of an agreement with the Louisville Zoo,
Bubbles and Samantha are among only a handful of animals at Zoo Miami that were born in the wild, most of whom are rescues that could not be returned to their natural habitat. While their exact birthdates are unknown, reliable estimates based on available information place Bubbles’ birth between January and February of 1963, and Samantha’s between January and February of 1969.
At 63 years old, Bubbles is the oldest chimpanzee under human care listed in ZIMS (Zoological Information Management Software) in North America! At 56, Samantha is tied for third oldest, alongside several other individuals across the continent…