When Chimps Attack!

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02162009/news/regionalnews/bizarre_animal_attack_in_stamford_155493.htm

A massive ape lost control at his Connecticut owner's home today and mauled a woman's face before he was repeatedly stabbed by his horrified owner and eventually shot dead by police, authorities said.

Travis, a 200-pound primate, attacked the 55-year-old woman today in Stamford as she visited her friend and chimp owner Sandy Herold around 3:30 p.m, cops said.

When Herold saw what happening, she ran out of the house with a butcher knife and stabbed Travis numerous times.

Cops showed up and a bloodied Travis tried to open a door of the patrol car. When he discovered it was locked, he moved to the other side and ripped the mirror off.

One of the officers then shot Travis.

The 15-year-old chimp staggered back inside Herald's home, where he collapsed in a pool of blood.

Kind of a sad story. I now feel like watching Planet of the Apes.

... damn dirty apes!

just another crazy actor on drugs the saddest thing is those people who expect animals to be something other than animals.

Nash (the injured woman) was in critical condition Tuesday after suffering what Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy called "life-changing, if not life-threatening," injuries to her face and hands.

Her sister-in-law, Kate Nash, said Tuesday morning that Nash underwent surgery Monday night and came out of it "OK."


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/17/national/main4806035.shtml

A 200-pound domesticated chimpanzee who once starred in TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola was shot dead by police after a violent rampage that left a friend of its owner badly mauled.

"There was no provocation that we know of. One thing that we're looking into is that we understand the chimpanzee has Lyme disease and has been ill from that, so maybe from the medications he was out of sorts. We really don't know," Conklin said.

Colleen McCann, a primatologist at the Bronx Zoo, said Tuesday that chimpanzees are unpredictable and dangerous even after living among humans for years.

"It's deceiving to think that if any animal is ... well-behaved around humans, that means there is no risk involved to humans for potential outbursts of behavior," she said. "They are unpredictable, and in instances like this you cannot control that behavior or prevent it from happening if it is in a private home."

Conklin told reporters the chimp was acting so agitated earlier that afternoon that Herold gave him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in some tea.