Spanky

SPANKY 13244655_10154486616133888_7164597297475587997_n

FACTS ABOUT ME

Born: October 18, 2005

Name: Spanky

Sex: male

Companion: Currently single

Favorite Food: It’s a tie between mango and watermelon

Favorite Activity: Swinging around his outdoor habitat as fast as he can

MY STORY

Spanky is one of the unfortunate primates bred in the U.S. for the pet trade. He was purchased as a birthday present by a family when he was eight months old and was intended to be a companion for a female gibbon they already owned. After their female died, Spanky’s owner contacted IPPL in March of 2014 and asked if we would take him in, as she could no longer care for him. When she agreed to sign a statement saying that she would never again purchase or care for a pet primate we agreed, so she and her husband drove Spanky cross-country and delivered him to us on May 23. We soon discovered that they had removed all four of his canines because they claimed he had difficulty chewing, though this procedure is often done to pet primates to keep them from biting humans. We certainly have never seen him have trouble chewing, and he has one of the biggest appetites on the property.

As the youngest gibbon on the property, Spanky is a non-stop ball of energy. He can’t wait to get out into his outdoor habitat and zoom around as quick as lightning every morning. Though he can be a bit temperamental at times, when he sees his favorite IPPL staff members he will come up to them and reach out to make sure they stop and give him attention. He definitely has a teenager’s attitude though and is known to throw a fit and bang on the bars of his enclosure if he doesn’t get his way. We love this feisty, sweet, swinging ball of fun!