Vicious Chimp Linked with Jacko Death By Charles Kane - Monday, 29 June 2009

In what has been described as a “suspicious” journalistic move, worldwide news agencies have resurrected a mid-may story about a vicious chimpanzee attack in the wake of Michael Jackson’s uncertain cause of death.

The story features a violent and drug-dependent chimpanzee attacking a long-time handler. The drug Xanax was found in the chimpanzee's system.

Jackson rescued a chimpanzee (Bubbles) from a cancer research clinic in 1985. Both initially shared a close relationship, collaborating on the album Bad, with the animal sleeping in the corner of Jackson’s room at his Neverland ranch. Jackson’s reasonably unconventional relationship with the animal claims some responsibility for the media dubbing the singer, “Wacko Jacko” in the late 1980s.

However, their relationship deteriorated into violence and neglect. In the 2003 documentary, Living with Michael Jackson, the singer noted Bubbles had been moved to an animal sanctuary after becoming overly aggressive, although he still visited frequently and considered the animal his first child.

Some individuals have speculated that Bubbles felt resentment over his displacement at the hands of Jackson’s human children, including his son, Prince Michael II. The whereabouts of Bubbles on the night in question is still looming over the case, although technically finding home in a ranch in California, animal trainer Bob Dunn noted suspiciously, “Bubbles is an adult chimp and a wild animal.”

Bubble’s mental stability is also a factor, his attempted suicide in December 2003 leading some to suggest he may be capable of murder as well as his ability at accumulating a large quantity of drugs.

Could this be the first case of a recorded premeditated murder by a non-human animal? The Jackson story could certainly still have a “thrilling” twist to come.

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