Yo, some woman got mauled by a chimp! Options

[hi-C]

When I saw first saw the headline, I was like "Nah... ain't no way some little chimp can do that" and I kind of laughed to myself because I figured she did something stupid. But alas, I was wrong.

A 55-year-old woman who was mauled by a 200-pound pet chimpanzee in Connecticut remained listed in critical condition on Tuesday, as police officials investigated whether illness might have changed the animal’s behavior.

Charla Nash, a friend of the chimpanzee’s owner, was viciously attacked in Stamford on Monday — with much of her face torn away — when she stepped out of her car at her friend’s house. The male chimpanzee, Travis, was eventually shot dead by officers, and Ms. Nash was taken to Stamford Hospital, where she remained on Tuesday.

In an interview, Capt. Richard Conklin of the Stamford Police said that Travis, 14, was believed to have Lyme disease, a tick-borne bacterial infection that in rare cases has been linked to psychosis, severe anxiety and delusional behavior. Travis had been in an agitated state most of the day Monday, and at one point his owner took the unusual step of giving him tea laced with Xanax in an attempt to calm him down, Capt. Conklin said.[...]

Despite their appearances, chimpanzees are known to possess astonishing power, with the average adult male having four to five times the upper-body strength of an adult human. As pets, they can be extremely difficult. They typically act aggressively toward their owners when they reach adulthood, and once reared by humans, they cannot be re-introduced into the wild because other chimpanzees will reject them, experts say.[...]

Travis’s owner, Sandra Herold, 70, had raised him almost as one of her own children, but found herself lunging at him with a butcher knife on Monday to protect Ms. Nash, said Capt. Conklin, who gave the following account.

Ms. Herold told detectives that Travis was in a rambunctious mood Monday afternoon. He took her keys from the kitchen table, unlocked a door and let himself out into the yard at 241 Rock Rimmon Road.

“He’s going to different cars and tapping on them, trying the doors, a clear indication he wanted to go for a ride,” Captain Conklin said.

Travis would not be lured back into the house, even after Ms. Herold gave him the Xanax-laced tea. Ms. Herold called Ms. Nash, who drove over, but when she stepped out of her car at around 3:40 p.m., Travis went at her full force. While it was not clear what prompted the assault, Ms. Nash had markedly changed her hairstyle since the last time Travis had seen her, possibly leading him to mistake her for an intruder.

Ms. Herold tried to pull Travis off her friend, but, Captain Conklin noted, “Sandra is 70 years old, and a 200-pound chimpanzee is much, much stronger than a 200-pound human being.”

Ms. Herold called 911, grabbed a knife and stabbed Travis several times, to little avail. When emergency service vehicles pulled up, Travis fled, leaving Ms. Nash face down in the driveway.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/nyregion/18chimp.html?hp

Did you know that chimps could get as big as 200 pounds? I sure as hell didn't.

[smash]

that's crazy. the chimp ripped her face off! geez.