( CNN ) -- A Florida primate sanctuary on Thursday maintained its chimpanzee named Cheetah , who died last week , was more than 80 years old and acted in the Tarzan movies during the 1930s , amid doubts about his age . Cheetah died Saturday after suffering kidney failure the week before , the sanctuary said on its website . Several chimpanzees appeared in various Tarzan movies , many of which were popular in the 1930s and 1940s . Debbie Cobb , outreach director at the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor , Florida , said Cheetah appeared in the Tarzan moves from 1932 through 1934 , meaning he was older than 80 . `` I 've been around this chimp for 51 years , so we know he 's 51 , and he was an adult when I met him , '' Cobb said . But several primatologists said Thursday they were skeptical that Cheetah was in his 80s when he died . Chimps commonly live into their 40s , and in captivity they can live up to age 60 , according to Friends of Washoe , a nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare of chimpanzees . `` It 's hard to doubt folks who are caring for the chimp if they say they 've had the chimpanzee that long consistently -- I 'm not in any position to question it , '' said John Mitani , a primatologist at the University of Michigan . `` What 's a bit surprising about the story is that the chimp is reported to be as old as it is . '' He said it would be `` quite remarkable '' to find a chimpanzee anywhere who could live to 80 . Cobb said her grandparents acquired Cheetah for the sanctuary in about 1959 or 1960 . `` They used to pick up their own animals , '' she said . She told CNN affiliate WFLA that Cheetah came from the estate of Johnny Weissmuller , who played Tarzan in movies through 1948 with other chimpanzees . Weissmuller -- the first speaking Tarzan , according to the Internet Movie Database website -- died in 1984 . Steve Ross , a primatologist at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and a leading authority on chimpanzees , administers the Chimpanzee Studbook , a record of chimpanzees who live in North American zoos . He said `` only a small handful '' of chimps in records dating to 1901 have even approached 70 . `` I think in that light , it 's a pretty unlikely claim '' that Cheetah was older than 80 , Ross told CNN . The likelihood of a chimp living to 80-plus is `` slim to none , '' said Mireya Mayor , a primatologist who has worked with National Geographic . Said Mary Lee Jensvold , dierctor of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute in central Washington state , `` It makes me scratch my head a little bit . '' Cobb said the life expectancy of chimpanzees can be higher in sanctuaries because of the quality of care they receive . At Suncoast , they are fed five times a day and receive attentive care . `` They can go so long , and they can mask illnesses so greatly , '' Cobb said . Another chimpanzee in a Florida sanctuary named Little Mama is said to be 74 years old and believed to be the oldest living chimp now , said Jennifer Berthiaume , a spokeswoman for the Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee . Ross said even Little Mama 's age is `` pushing it a little bit , '' and Mitani said that age exceeds what scientists have been able to document . Another chimpanzee named Cheeta lives on a primate sanctuary in Southern California named C.H.E.E.T.A ( Creative Habitats and Enrichment for Endangered and Threatened Apes ) , both named after the chimp character in the Tarzan movies . The California sanctuary 's creator , Dan Westfall , said on its website that he was saddened to hear of Cheetah 's passing in Florida . He said he and others at the sanctuary `` send our deepest sympathies to our colleagues at Suncoast . '' Westfall said he was told his Cheeta was one of the original chimps in the Tarzan movies during the 1930s and 1940s . But when he began working with Washington Post writer R.D . Rosen on Cheeta 's biography several years ago , research revealed `` that our Cheeta is unlikely to be as old as we 'd thought , although he is clearly old , '' Westfall wrote . `` It is also difficult to determine which movies , if any , our Cheeta may have been in , '' Westfall wrote . Cobb said several primates at her Florida sanctuary have been in the entertainment industry . `` To me , they 're all celebrities , '' she said . On the Cheetah matter , she said , `` We know there 's going to be naysayers . We do n't run in that mode . ''
A local primate sanctuary maintains Cheetah was 80-plus . Scientists say they are skeptical about the age . Primatologists say animals in captivity can live up to age 60 . Cheetah appeared in Tarzan films in the 1950s , a sanctuary official says .