Name: Louie-Louie
Sex: Male
Born: July 19, 1991
Favorite food: Mangos.
Favorite activity: Sunbathing.

Louie-Louie came to IPPL with his parents in October 1991 from the Lubee Foundation in Florida, after the death of the foundation’s founder. Those who assumed control of the research foundation decided to get rid of all their 180 or so primates and focus solely on bats. The unwanted primates included Cleon and Clementine and their son Louie-Louie who, at the time of their arrival at IPPL, was still clinging to his mother. Cleon and Clementine were very old gibbons who had reached the foundation from a northern zoo, and both were missing many fingers and toes due to frostbite. They have since passed on.

Michelle and Louie-Louie are an odd couple. When we paired them up in March 2007, Michelle was a feisty, mature female of about 20; she had already had an infant, and she had to be separated from her previous mate because of her aggressive behavior. Louie-Louie was at the time an innocent 15-year-old in the prime of his life. So Michelle became a “cradle-robber”—and Louie-Louie became one very happy fella.

The two of them are very active, often swinging and playing together. They like to play with the freshly-cut bamboo stalks that we provide for enrichment. When he’s ready for a rest, Louie-Louie will lie splayed out on the cool cement floor of his outdoor enclosure and relax in the sun.