Travis and Mrs. Herold in 2003.
Posted on 02/16/2009 11:31:05 PM PST by nickcarraway
A pet chimpanzee - who had appeared in TV commercials and shows - got loose at a home at 241 Rock Rimmon Road in Stamford, Connecticut Monday afternoon, according to Stamford police. And it was not his first time.
His owner, Sandra Herold, 70, had called a friend over to help since "Travis" was misbehaving. He had taken the keys to the car. The chimp was also trying to open car doors, which he apparently did to indicate he wanted to go for a ride. Herold was able to coax Travis back to the house and she gave him some Xanax laced tea, said police.
When the friend , Charla Nash, 55, of Stamford arrived minutes later, the 200-pound chimp bolted outside and began brutally attacking Nash as she was getting out of her car, leaving her with severe facial injuries. She is in "very critical condition," said police.
Travis's owner tried to stop the attack by stabbing the chimp with a butcher knife. When that didn't work, she called 911, according to police.
When they arrived, officers gave emergency medical personnel an armed escort to the victim. Police evacuated the area because there were children playing nearby.
Travis then charged at police, smashed a car window and opened the door to a police cruiser where an officer was taking cover. That officer shot the chimp several times and Travis ran off. Police followed a trail of blood through the house and found Travis dead in his living quarters in the back of the house, said police.
This was not Travis's first run-in with the law. On October 19, 2003, Travis escaped from his owner's SUV and went running through the streets. More than a dozen police officers chased around after him at the time.
In a newspaper article at the time, police said the chimp, then 10, was toilet trained. He reportedly dressed himself, ate at the table and drank wine. He could use a computer and remote control.
He starred in Old Navy and Coca-Cola commercials and even appeared on the Maury Povich Show, according to an article in the Stamford Advocate.
Travis's owner, Sandra Herold, 70, is also hospitalized. She may have had a mild heart attack, reported those at the scene but Stamford Hospital is not releasing any information about her condition.
Herold was able to coax Travis back to the house and she gave him some
They were out of bananas.
Chimps are not nice, cute little monkeys. They are powerful, intelligent, dangerous apes.
The WILL rip your face off if they get a chance.
The whole story is just sad to me for the people injured and the chimp. The chimp belonged in an animal sanctuary or zoo.
A 200lb chimp has the strength of several NFL linebackers, not to mentiontheir teeth..
I know these stories are not funny—people have been badly injured, but I still laugh about this comment back in 2005. This was the case in CA where the couple took a cake to a sanctuary for their chimp’s birthday and ended up being badly attacked by 2 other chimps:
Woman attacked by chimp speaks of the attack
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1357031/posts
Bon mots wrote:
Next year, I think they should just send a card.
But he was such a good boy...
Reminds me of the song Benny the Bouncer..."Benny was a bouncer at the Palais de Danse, he'd rip your granny's face off given half the chance."
Seriously though, arguing to supposedly rational adults that dangerous animals are "dangerous" is a waste of time, as demonstrated on this very web site after that idiot Australian was killed by a cute cuddly creature we were all fawning over.
Yeah, but they drown real easy.
I love animals, but chimps are extremely dangerous past a certain age, particularly males.
And your face isn’t the only thing they will rip off, guys.
somehow the imagery of the ‘One’ comes to mind...
What really worries me are the idiots that keep poisonous snakes. Just wait until a pregnant black mamba or Russell's viper or cobra gets loose in the Everglades.
-ccm
Um...it happened.
(The chimp is dead. The neighbors can take their houses of the market.)
Agree that a 70-year-old woman (or anyone else for that matter) had no business having this chimp in a residential area and driving it around town.
NFL linebackers can’t swim?
200 pounds! Whoa.
Yes, but in our age common sense is often scoffed at, although there are some encouraging signs among the junior high set.
Hamlet, who has become the island's head male, took a dislike for one of the island's anti poaching security force members.
Exactly why Hamlet, who is still a juvenile, went after the security force member, was a mystery.
After waiting for the security man to be alone, Hamlet first sinks the man's patrol boat, so that he couldn't escape in it, then ambushes the guy, biting and breaking his foot so that he couldn't;t escape by running either, and then proceeds to brutalize the guy until his screaming attracted the attention of other workers and camera men. Luckily, the security man lived. But the brutal attack caused a great deal of concern among the island's people.
Whatever Hamlet's motivation for attacking the man was, the attack was cunning and brutal, and there was almost a decision to relocate Hamlet to a more isolated part of the jungle.
Had they decided to move Hamlet, I have to wonder just how successful such a move would have been, for during the show's 2 years, Hamlet has repeatedly shown his resourcefulness and intelligence, figuring out ways to bypass an electrical fence, and crossing substantial water barriers, despite not being able to swim. I was even left wondering if the desire for a boat ride, and anger after being refused, may have prompted Hamlet's attack...
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