Key Takeaways
By then, sensibilities regarding the exploitation of wild animals for human amusement had already begun to shift. In 1993, Berosini told Harper’s Magazine that he and his wife received multiple death threats. He said they also shopped at a different supermarket every day due to threats that the orangutans food would be poisoned.
Popi, 53, spends her days strolling through the woods, snacking on fruit, visiting her orangutan friends, napping and taking bubble baths at Florida s Center for Great Apes sanctuary. (Image: Center for Great Apes)Berosini took his act to Branson, Mo., hoping for a fresh start. In 1997, he made his final Las Vegas appearance, offering up his orangutans for photo-ops at the Tropicana. But pressure from PETA forced the casino resort to cancel his contract.
Berosini and his wife eventually left the US. They are believed to be living in Costa Rica.
Before leaving, they reportedly sent their orangutans to an unidentified Hollywood training compound.
Popi who appeared in “Going Ape!” and as the girlfriend of “Clyde” in Any Which Way You Can, the 1980 sequel to “Every Which Way But Loose” was moved from there in 2008 to the Great Ape Trust, a cognitive research facility in Iowa. That facility sent her to Florida’s Center for Great Apes, an accredited sanctuary, in 2012, where she remains today.
In April, Popi celebrated her 53rd birthday, making her the second-oldest Bornean orangutan in North America.
“Lost Vegas” is an occasional Casino.org series spotlighting Las Vegas’ forgotten history. to read other entries in the series. Think you know a good Vegas story lost to history? Email corey@casino.org.
