Peppy

PEPPY 12809745_10153978451096323_8062539667779857285_n

FACTS ABOUT ME

Born: January 23, 1979

Name: Peppy

Sex: male

Companion: Currently Single

Favorite Food: Eggplant (Peppy is among the few of our gibbons who prefer veggies to fruit or any other treats)

Favorite Activity: Sucking his thumb (like Elizabeth)

MY STORY

Peppy was born at the Comparative Oncology Laboratory of the University of California at Davis. When he was only two months old he was infected with gibbon leukemia virus, but luckily for him the virus preparation was inactive, and his test results continually came back negative for the disease. He was later sent to the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) in New York where he was paired with a young female gibbon named Helen. In April of 1982 IPPL made arrangements to take in Helen but, once we got to new York, staff members noticed that Peppy looked so forlorn at being separated from Helen that we arranged to have him sent to us as well! Helen sadly passed away in March of 2017, but the two of them had 35 wonderful years together.

In 2020 Peppy was introduced to Mia. While they initially seemed well suited, over time, it became apparent that Mia’s younger, more active lifestyle became visibly uncomfortable for Peppy. They were separated and both have adjusted to happy single lives.

Peppy is one of two gibbons on the property that sucks his thumb, a habit that some primates use to comfort themselves, just like human children. He is a laid back gibbon that can always be counted on to come over to a staff members looking for back scratches. Staff always have to make sure to give themselves extra time while hosing his enclosure, for he comes right up looking for a nice cool drink from the water hose and will not let them finish their jobs until they comply!