Once again there is another animal attack in the news. This time it is another chimpanzee attack and a woman is in the hospital in critical condition–and the chimpanzee, Travis is dead.
News commentators mistakenly refer to Travis the chimpanzee as a “monkey” (chimpanzees are apes) and reports that Travis was “fully domesticated” are erroneous.
Wild animals are just that–wild animals. They may have been trained but are not tame critters.
Domestic animals have been selectively bred for traits that keep them amiable for life with humans over multiple generations and thousands of years.
Because of the media and ads such as those on Career Builder, people think that chimpanzees are amiable and cooperative creatures. (A travesty that suggests they are humanlike and amiable.)
They are not.
Fortunately the chimps got their pinks slips but the ads were very popular.
Chimpanzees have been portrayed as human-like in a variety of situations since the 1930s when Cheeta made appearances in Tarzan.
Ham and Enos, the astrochimps, were famous for their trips into space.
But those of us who have worked with such creatures know how dangerous they really are and don’t take such potential lightly.
Chimps: The Dark Side is just one documentary that reveals the other side of chimpanzees.
I also remember one called, Chimp Wars (or something similar) but have not been able to find the reference. (Leave a comment below if you can help me on this).
The Travis the chimp incident is a tragedy but the distorted views of privately owned chimpanzees by people such as Herold, or those who are show in commercials such as the Career Builder series of ads, is a travesty (undignified or trivializing treatment of a chimpanzee and a gross parody of the real animal).
Anyway, there is speculation that the hair color changes of the victim (or that perhaps the influence of lyme disease) might have influenced the chimps behavior.
Uh let me clear something up here–Travis, even though he was trained, was a large, adult chimpanzee.
Testosterone + strength + natural behavior (chimps can be volatile) + lack of control = bad behavior (in this case an animal attack).
Many Stamford residents know Travis for an incident in October 2003, when the chimp jumped out of an SUV in which he was riding with Herold and her late husband, Jerome.
The incident occurred after a young man threw something at the SUV that went through a half-open window and struck Travis while they were stopped at a traffic light. Startled, Travis unbuckled his seat belt, opened the SUV door and went after the man, but did not catch him.
Travis then played at the busy Tresser Boulevard intersection for about two hours. Each time they lured him into the SUV, he got back out by opening the door before they could lock it. The same thing happened when they tried to get Travis into the back of a police cruiser. At one point the chimp chased officers around a police car parked on Tresser Boulevard. Police finally forced him back into the SUV.
Excuse me–played?
Somehow people mistakenly think that wild animals can be good pets but this chimp was misbehaving (or behaving like a normal chimpanzee) not “playing innocently.”
In the past it was possible to obtain wild animals and keep them as pets but this practice has been severely curtailed in many states such as California.
Even so, people somehow manage to have wild animals as pets.
From the same article I quoted from before:
It is not illegal to own an exotic pet in Connecticut, but a law requires new owners to have permits. The law was not retroactive and did not apply to the Herolds…
Connecticut Sec. 26-40a states: Possession of potentially dangerous animals. For the purposes of this section, the following shall be considered as potentially dangerous animals: the felidae, including the lion, leopard cheetah, jaguar, ocelot, jaguarundi cat, puma, lynx and bobcat; the canidae, including the wolf and coyote and the ursidae, including the black bear, grizzly bear and brown bear. No person shall possess a potentially dangerous animal. Any such animal illegally possessed may be disposed of as determined by the commissioner of environmental protection. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars for each offense. the provisions of this section shall not apply to municipal parks, zoos and nature centers, or museums laboratories and research facilities maintained by scientific or educational institutions or to persons possessing animals legally on or before May 23, 1983.
Did I read that right? The fine is only one hundred bucks? Plus the dangerous animal list is lacking a few species.
In this case the woman had no business housing or transporting such an animal–much less asking for help from a friend to contain a large captive chimpanzee.
This is a tragedy but it also shows how irresponsible animal ownership can go bad.
Here is the Sandra Herold 911 call during the chimp attack on Charla Nash:
The U.S. House passed the Captive Primate Safety Act to ban the interstate transport of primates for the pet trade, by a vote of 302-96 (with all of the “no” votes coming from Republican lawmakers). Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and a few other anti-animal lawmakers made fun of this attempt to stop the abuse of primates in the pet trade and to protect people and communities, but fortunately, their efforts fell short in the House. But in the Senate, despite repeated efforts by bill co-authors Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and David Vitter (R-La.) to get the legislation over the finish line and sent to President Bush for his signature, Sen.Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) blocked consideration of the bill. But for Coburn, a medical doctor, we’d now have a federal law banning the interstate transport of dangerous primates as pets.
There will be more commentary in the days and weeks to come.
Every year many dogs suffer from noise phobia which creates a problem on New Years Eve. Loud noises such as fireworks during this holiday traumatize dogs.
Desensitizing a dog to fireworks and related noise is possible but it takes time and pre-planning.
Since the New Year’s celebrations are just around the corner I thought it would be a good time to mention a few things owners can do to assist their pets through this short period of potential trauma.
I wrote previously about some of the pet music CDs available and some are specifically focused on helping pets overcome noise phobias associated with fireworks, thunder, and other loud bangs.
A few people have found their pets improve when given Melatonin.
Although drug therapy and sedation can work, I only like recommending it if you have tried other techniques unsuccessfully previously.
It is important to refrain from ‘comforting’ their pet because, although done with good intentions, this can actually reinforce the fear and panic behaviors exhibited by the animals.
Reassuring your pet is different from the cuddling, petting, holding, and trying to physically relieve the stress.
It is best to soothe your pet by your tone of voice and by remaining calm.
Other preparations on such short notice is to make sure that your pet has ID tags with current information on them and that pets are safely secured both before and through the holiday.
Temporary strategies you can take:
* crate your pet at home
* kennel the pet professionally
* keep the pet confined/restrained indoors
* use drug therapy (tranquilizers/anti-anxiety medications as prescribed from your veterinarian)
* use alternative therapy (your holistic veterinarian or therapist will provide a list)
* play classical music or jazz to soothe pets and camouflage other noises
Your home environment is often the best holding area for your pet especially where you can confine your animal in a quiet room or in a crate.
Confinement or crates serve as a “den” that gives animals more security if trained right.
Crates that contain solid sidings with air vents work better than the wire ones in this type of situation.
If you are using a room in the home, the best ones are the bathroom, laundry room, or a secure garage.
The room to choose is one where there are no windows to jump through, or where the windows can be blocked off, or that are too high and narrow to access.
In addition, darken the room and crate. Be sure to play soothing music at a level that helps drown out the firework noise.
Before the holiday, be aware that fireworks may be set off before dark. Keep your dog on a leash when toileting and be sure that your pets have on a secure collar with the name and phone number of the veterinarian and your cell phone along with an emergency number of a friend that knows you pet.
Be sure to put your pets “to bed” early before celebrations and the fireworks start.
Always check with your veterinarian and behavior specialist before using any drugs or tranquilizers, and don’t forget to watch out for guests opening doors up which can provide an opportunity for animals to bolt outdoors.
If you think you need professional help be sure to contact your veterinarian or your local animal behavior specialist prior to the holiday.
Do you have any other tips or product recommendations for this issue? Please leave a comment below.
Do you like what you are reading? 
Once again there is another animal attack in the news. This time it is another chimpanzee attack and a woman is in the hospital in critical condition–and the chimpanzee, Travis is dead.
* crate your pet at home