By Kristen Sullivan
https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/pets/celebrities-and-their-unusual-pets-1.13204731
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Celebrities and their unusual pets
Have you ever dreamed of owning a tiger? Maybe you’ve stared in awe at the animals in the zoo, wishing you could take one home. From Leonardo DiCaprio to Miley Cyrus, these celebrities have owned some of the most unusual and exotic animals in the world…as pets.
Justin Bieber
Photo Credit: Justin Bieber via Instagram
While spending time in Germany in 2013, Justin Bieber received a Capuchin monkey named Mally as a birthday gift. Due to German laws regarding exotic animals, the animal was seized by customs, and Bieber was unable to leave the country with his new pet. According to people.com, the singer was given ample time to produce appropriate paperwork to retrieve the monkey but never came forward, so German authorities demanded $8,000 in fines to transport Mally to a zoo. The primate now resides at Serengeti Park in Copenhagen.
Mike Tyson
Photo by: The Ring Magazine via Getty Images
Boxing legend Mike Tyson has a penchant for exotic animals and reportedly spent $4,000 a month to care for his three white Bengal tigers before declaring bankruptcy in 2003. Tyson, left, leaves the Golden Gloves Gym with Kenya, his pet tiger, on Oct. 30, 1995.
According to E! News, after a trip to Africa, Griffith’s mother, Tippi Hedren, and stepfather, Noel Marshall, made a film about large felines such as lions, leopards and tigers. An animal trainer persuaded the pair to house a 400-pound male lion named Neil to gain a deeper understanding of the species. In 1971, LIFE Magazine featured photos of the family interacting with Neil as if he were an ordinary member of the family, including shots of him sleeping in bed with daughter Melanie and swimming in the pool. Hedren has been an advocate for both large and small cats for decades and developed the Roar Foundation and the Shambala Preserve animal sanctuary in California.
Melanie Griffith and Tippi Hedren Photo
Photo Credit: tippihedrenofficial via Instagram
According to E! News, after a trip to Africa, Griffith’s mother, Tippi Hedren, and stepfather, Noel Marshall, made a film about large felines such as lions, leopards and tigers. An animal trainer persuaded the pair to house a 400-pound male lion named Neil to gain a deeper understanding of the species. In 1971, LIFE Magazine featured photos of the family interacting with Neil as if he were an ordinary member of the family, including shots of him sleeping in bed with daughter Melanie and swimming in the pool. Hedren has been an advocate for both large and small cats for decades and developed the Roar Foundation and the Shambala Preserve animal sanctuary in California.
George Clooney
Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney owned a pot-bellied pig named Max for 18 years — and often even slept with him. Clooney bought Max for then-girlfriend Kelly Preston and told CBS News that “pigs are really smart. And he was funny, and he made me laugh. But they’re work because they’ll destroy everything if you let them.”
Paris Hilton
Photo Credit: https://twitter.com/ParisHilton/status/904756002297348096
Tinkerbell isn’t the only famous pet Paris Hilton has had over the years: the socialite once owned a kinkajou named Baby Luv. But their relationship soured when the pet bit Hilton on the arm during a play session. Hilton went to the emergency room soon after, where she had the wound cleaned and received a tetanus shot.
Michael Jackson
Photo Credit: Polaris / eyevine
The King of Pop owned a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles that made many public appearances with the star during his “Bad” tour in the 1980s. Bubbles slept in a crib in the singer’s bedroom and even drank tea with the Mayor of Osaka, Japan. Bubbles have since retired from the spotlight and now lives happily at The Center for Great Apes, an animal sanctuary in Wauchula, Florida.
Miley Cyrus
Photo Credit: Miley Cyrus via mypetashes
Among her many traditional pets, singer Miley Cyrus also has a pet pig originally named Bubba Sue. Cyrus later announced on Instagram that she changed her swine’s name to Pig, aka pig pig.
Elvis Presley
Photo Credit: ElvisPresleyPets
In 1957, the King of Rock and Roll was given a pet wallaby, and he later donated the animal to the Memphis Zoo to ensure it received the care it needed.
Leonardo DiCaprio
In 2010, while attending the North American Reptile Breeders Conference and Trade Show in Anaheim, California, Leonardo DiCaprio purchased a 45-pound, 7-year-old African spurred tortoise for the asking price of $400.
