Jackson’s pets spark fundraising war

The death of Michael Jackson has sparked a fundraising war between various wildlife sanctuaries in America housing former members of the King of Pop's Neverland menagerie.

The likes of chimpanzee Bubbles, tigers Thriller and Sabu, and Rikki the Amazonian parrot are now living in different reserves across the country - and all of them are asking for donations from Jackson fans in the wake of his death.

Actress Tippi Hedren, who looks after Jackson's two tigers at her big cat reserve near LA, led the calls for cash after revealing that she had taken time out to personally break the news of their former owner's death to the predators.

The mother of actress Melanie Griffith and star of Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1963 thriller The Birds said: "I went up and sat with them for a while and let them know that Michael was gone. You don't know what mental telepathy exists from the human to the animal, but I hope they understood."

She added that she was hoping for donations to her Shambala Preserve, which is home to 68 tigers, lions and other big cats.

Jackson's most famed companion, Bubbles the chimp (above), who was rescued from a cancer research lab in 1985, now lives at the Center for Great Apes, a Florida sanctuary which is also appealing for donations from Jackson fans. The ape, 26, has not been invited to the funeral and centre staff say they have yet to inform him of the star's death.

According to the Sun newspaper, Bubbles now spends his days painting, listening to "calming flute music" and playing with an older chimp called Sam.

Most of the other members of the zoo that sprang up at Jackson's home are now housed at the Voices of the Wild Foundation run by Freddie Hancock in Arizona.

Hancock said he was "overwhelmed with sadness" by the news of Jackson's death, but revealed he had not told the animals about it. "I talk to animals all the time, and I have not had that conversation with them," Hancock said, "but I am sure we will."

Hancock, too, has appealed to Jackson fans to send donations in his memory.