Breaking News:Monkey About Town Attacks Woman

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

That's so sad all round.

[Marvelmania]

Just read that the chimp had been given Xanax in some tea earlier that day and that it might also have been recovering from lime disease. Who knows what set it off. The poor woman who was attacked is facing life changing and life threatening injuries. Hope she pulls through.

[Vortigern99]

Hobub, thank you for taking the picture of the St. James Davis chimp attack victim off of your post. I've never been able to handle stuff like televised medical procedures, "Faces of Death" videos or footage of any kind of violence or mishap. It just makes me want to burst out into tears.

Of course, though, I'm doing that anyway as I type this. I read the article about this recent attack, and my heart goes out to everyone involved. "Travis", as the attacking chimp was known, used to do Old Navy and Coke commercials. Apparently he used to ride around in his keepers' tow-truck alot, and at home he used to "log in" to look at pictures on the computer (did he type in his password, or what?) and flip channels with the remote. Sounds like most guys I know!

His owners sound like reasonable people; they just didn't understand that chimps are 1) wild animals, not domesticated like dogs or cats, and 2) so close to human beings as to render in inhumane to keep them as "pets".

Following the attack on the keeper's friend (who knew Travis), Travis was shot when he tried to pursue the arriving policemen into one of their cars. After he was shot several times -- here's the part that gets me -- Travis went back into the house, into his own playroom where he kept all his toys and stuff, and died.

That just breaks my heart in half. Here was an animal out of his world, out of his place of belonging, away from his kind and his scope of understanding. He did not belong in human society and did not ask to be put there. He should have been remanded to a private rehabilitation facility (like the ones we have here in Texas) or a zoo for re-integration with members of his species.

Anyway. This just makes me so, so sad.

[hobub]

I understand. But as far as bad, It's bad.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009...jaw_in_ch.html

Please folks, you might have better luck raising a grizzly or lion cub. At least you would respect their capabilities when they are adult age. My father used to always tell me when my cousin's had a pet baby racoon, "They don't make good pets, when they get big, they get mean." That statement goes for all undomesticated animals. They have a genetic code that steers their behavior and it's pretty much like most nature is, brutal. You want a pet, there are several dogs and cats that need homes.

Chimpanzees are very intelligent but they are NOT people. They ARE animals. In his mind's eye, that lady was intruding on his family. The misconception these people have is that the chimps are tame but actually they consider their owners as family or pack members. All others are intruders.

[Cosmicman]

Animals like this should not be kept as pets. This is the reason why.