Derek Bodner’s Blog

This one’s just a shame on so many levels.

200 pound domesticated Chimpanzee mauls 55 year old.

Obviously, our thoughts go out to the 55 year old Charla Nash, who is still in the hospital with critical injuries to her face and hands. To say that she is the most tragic case in this ordeal is obvious.

But I can’t help feel sorry for the animal in these situations. That goes for exotic animals that shouldn’t be held as private pets, and as well as dogs. 99 times out of 100, when a dog becomes aggressive, it’s due to a bad owner, either intentionally raising the dog to be aggressive (or defensive), or simply being ignorant of how to handle the animal. Big dogs get the worst rap, not because they’re inherently worse animals, but because an aggressive Rottweiler is a much bigger problem than an aggressive Chihuahua.

Likewise, it’s why a 200 lb Chimpanzee can be a great loving pet for 14 years, yet still be a threat. Something sets him off, something gets him scared, something gets him feeling he’s threatened, and his instinctual reaction can be deadly.

Obviously, we really have no idea how a Chimpanzee reacts to Xanax or the Lyme Disease medication it was on. And, while the animal has been domesticated, it’s still far too close to being wild to get rid of its instincts and “fight or flight” reactions. 99% of the time, the Chimpanzee was probably consciously making attempts to fit in with the society it lived in. And, from all accounts, this Chimp was a well-behaved, loving creature for every moment of its 14 year life up until this point. I have no doubt that something, somewhere, set this Chimpanzee into a panic. Something made it fear that its life was in jeopardy. And he reacted like we would expect any animal to react. That’s not to say the owner or friend did anything to instigate it, but we simply don’t fully understand the reactions of these creatures. We don’t understand their mannerisms or tells.

When the chips are down, and a wild animal feels its life is in jeopardy, there’s only one way I expect him to react. We, as humans, have been trained over and over to remove this instinct. We can get hit by cars going 70 miles per hour, and we don’t react. We can get punched by a stranger, and know to hold up. Animals don’t know that.

So, here is an animal who probably felt his life was in jeopardy, knowing only one way to react. He reacts. Moments later someone he considers a mother to him s trying to mortally stab him. The Chimpanzee is obviously confused, and the result is tragic.

This just echo’s why exotic pets (particularly exotic pets of this size) are a bad idea. We don’t know them. We don’t understand them. And they’re far too close to their wild brethren to be effectively domesticated fully. Dogs, while large animals, are a thousand plus year work in progress, and why they can trust us to the point of throwing their instincts to the wind. And even that doesn’t happen all the time with poorly trained dogs. No matter how good of a Chimpanzee Travis was, no matter how domesticated he was, and no matter how good-natured he was, if something sets him off where he thinks he’s fighting for his life, situation’s such as this arise. Which are tragic for both humans and animal. Just a shame all around.