Feb 28, 2008

Cinder the Hairless Chimp

Cinder is an eleven-year-old resident of the Saint Louis Zoo. She is a beloved member of the Chimpanzee exhibit, and is described as a real sweetheart and the center of attention by her handlers.

She suffers from a condition known as alopecia universalis--complete and utter hairlessness (this is also found among 1.7% of the human population). She was born at the zoo as a normally hairy baby. She soon, however, lost all of her hair. Aside from hairlessness, she is an otherwise healthy, happy chimp with a full life expectancy ahead of her.

I post on Cinder for a few reasons:

1) You may have noticed that I am fascinated by instances of alopecia.
2) Cinder's hairlessness shows off her spectacular musculature. There are many homo sapien males who would give much to have those arms.
3) She looks an awful lot like my little brother.

So, the next time you're in Saint Louis, be sure to say hello to Cinder for me.

Thanks for the link, Ida.

Photo source: Saint Louis Zoo

10 comments:

Arallyn said...

she looks very, very naked.

Lindsay said...

She's adorable!

Much more cute than the normal, hairy, variety.

Thai said...

If you haven't already, you should read her biography on the St. Louis Zoo website! It's pretty cute!

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a cute chimp! And you are totally right... I'm sure alot of men would love arms like those. WOW.. I knew they were strong, but damn.. look at those guns!
Anywho... she looks awesome and looks like she gets spoiled like crazy heh.

R said...

I'd like to point out that some ape's fetish for hairless apes led to the human race.

Anonymous said...

Nooo! Don't be fooled. It's a Lex Luthor monkey! At this very moment it's plotting Bobo's demise. (That was the name of Superman's pet chimp, right?)

Very cute. VERY muscular. Makes me even more afraid of them than normal.

Anonymous said...

I saw her just a few months ago! She was just lazing about, being adorable. A zoo volunteer told us she's so mild-mannered and that the other chimps treat her kindly.

furbabies said...

She looks like she would be very cold in the winter. Do they keep her inside then? Does she wear sweaters?

Anonymous said...

Hey, I have seen her many times. I live about 10 min from STL zoo. She is kept inside during winter. No sweaters though, lol.

Anonymous said...

She died Sunday.