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An Ape Truly Goes Ape


jbg

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A well-liked, friendly 14 year old chimpanzee literally went apes*** this past Monday in Stamford, Connecticut. Read below:

Police: Pet chimpanzee, Travis, attacks woman in Stamford

BY Edgar Sandoval, Bill Hutchinson and Helen Kennedy

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Updated Tuesday, February 17th 2009, 5:34 AM

A teenage ape raised like a human went berserk in Connecticut Monday, badly mauling a friend of his owner before cops shot and killed him.

Sandy Herold tried to stop the rampage by stabbing her beloved pet chimp, Travis, with a butcher knife, cops said.

"In an effort to stop him, she had to go after her pet of many years," said Stamford, Conn., police Capt. Rich Conklin.

But Travis, a normally docile 200-pound chimp that starred in a TV commercial for Old Navy cargo shorts and enjoyed human activities like drinking wine and surfing the Internet, could not be stopped.

When cops drove up around 4 p.m., the burly ape tore off a cruiser's side mirror and opened the door.

The officers had "nowhere to retreat," Conklin said, and shot him several times.

Bleeding from stab wounds and gunshots, 15-year-old Travis staggered down the driveway and into Herold's house, where he collapsed and died in a zoolike cage the size of a room.

*******************

The celebrity monkey was a media darling, however.

A 2003 feature story in the Stamford Advocate reported he liked to surf the Internet and watched TV with a remote, preferring baseball games if he could find them.

He watered plants, fed hay to the Herolds' horses, ate at the table with his owners and drank wine from a stemmed glass.

Travis was known to the town cops because they worked with the Herolds' towing company, Desire Me Towing. He would ride in the trucks, waving.

Brings to mind the lyrics of this song, Gitarzan (link):

GITARZAN

Ray Stevens

He's free as the breeze

He's always at ease

He lives in the jungle and hangs by his knees

As he swings through the trees

With a trapeze in his B.V.D.s

He's got a union card and he's practicing hard

To play, the guitar, gonna be a big star

Yeah, he's gonna go far

And carry moonbeams home in a jar

He ordered Chet's guitar course C.O.D.

Like A and E and he's working on B

Big W&W and R&B and even the chimpanzees agree

That someday soon he'll be a celebrity

Get it, get it, get it.

Gitarzan, he's a gitar man

He's all you can stand

Give him a hand, gitarzan

He's got a girl named Jane

With no last name

Kinda homely and plain

But he loves her just the same

Cause she kindles the flame

And it drives him insane

When he hears her say

She really does her thing

It's her claim to fame

Come on sing one Jane

Baby, baby, oh baby

Baby, oh baby

(How about that folks)

They've got a pet monkey who likes

To get drunk and sing boogie woogie

And it sounds real funky

Come on your turn boy

Sing one monkey

Let's hear it for the monkey

On Saturday night they need some excitement

Jane gets right and the monkey gets tight

And their voices unite

In the pale moonlight

And it sounds all right

Yeah, it's dynamite, it's out of sight

Let's hear it right now

Baby, baby oh baby

Yeah, shut up baby, I'm trying to sing

Get it, get it, get it

Repeat Chorus

Edited by jbg
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If a creature even a dog lives with human beings long enough - they get wise and figure out what there true place in the human world is - old dogs stop listening and don't give a damn - and will sometimes take to biting - This old chimp was much like a circus elephant that finally says damn it - I'm going down fighting - The chimp probably thought - the same ----- and the rumor that the owner liked to put drugs into his system probably di not help - so he ripped the face off of what he hated and took a few bullets....which he was not really expecting...chimps are bright but they do not know the concept of "suicide by cop" - :rolleyes:

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If a creature even a dog lives with human beings long enough - they get wise and figure out what there true place in the human world is - old dogs stop listening and don't give a damn - and will sometimes take to biting - This old chimp was much like a circus elephant that finally says damn it - I'm going down fighting - The chimp probably thought - the same ----- and the rumor that the owner liked to put drugs into his system probably di not help - so he ripped the face off of what he hated and took a few bullets....which he was not really expecting...chimps are bright but they do not know the concept of "suicide by cop" - :rolleyes:

All so: Human being who have inter-species relationships get delluded and actually believe that the creature is human - you see it with dogs..and cats...The human being is not an ape - well maybe some are - frankly I may be related to the ape and with all life forms but my grand father was not one..nor was his...humans are seperate - To humanize an ape or dog for that matter - is cruel and selfish - It put such great strain on the creature and it will never live up to what is expected by the master...so sometimes ..........snap - that cat eats your nose because he is a cat and does not want to be your damned buddy.

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A close relative, who is now a zoo director, got their start babysitting a chimpanzee purchased as an infant by a family who won a large insurance award. They were doing the chimp thing long before Michael Jackson....pretty damn cute when they are small...even smoked cigarettes. As the chimp got older, he became more aggressive, with a keen nose for women in...ummmm...estrous. One day he went beserk and attacked a woman walking her infant in a baby carriage....bit the infant's scalp clean off. Of course the owners got sued and the chimp was sent to a halfway house in Arizona....where lots of these ill fated "adoptions" end up.

So we have a rule in our house.....no Tarzan and no Cheeta allowed.

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A close relative, who is now a zoo director, got their start babysitting a chimpanzee purchased as an infant by a family who won a large insurance award. They were doing the chimp thing long before Michael Jackson....pretty damn cute when they are small...even smoked cigarettes. As the chimp got older, he became more aggressive, with a keen nose for women in...ummmm...estrous. One day he went beserk and attacked a woman walking her infant in a baby carriage....bit the infant's scalp clean off. Of course the owners got sued and the chimp was sent to a halfway house in Arizona....where lots of these ill fated "adoptions" end up.

So we have a rule in our house.....no Tarzan and no Cheeta allowed.

You the great white hope of the primate privledged set is now king of the bannana pile - unless the wife finds a monkey with more and bigger bannanas - then it's good buy Bonzo.

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You the great white hope of the primate privledged set is now king of the bannana pile - unless the wife finds a monkey with more and bigger bannanas - then it's good buy Bonzo.

Well, as in this case, we all were wondering what the owners were doing with the Chimp at bedtime. Funny as hell until somebody gets hurts....people don't realize how strong an adult male chimpanzee can be.

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Well, as in this case, we all were wondering what the owners were doing with the Chimp at bedtime. Funny as hell until somebody gets hurts....people don't realize how strong an adult male chimpanzee can be.

Or a Pit Bull Terrier....they are pure muscle with an adrenialine gland attached supplimented by a brain the size of a golf ball that screams the ancient carnivor chant - rip rip rip - chew - swallow then lick up the blood...When people get into a tizzy and talk about unconditional love that dogs have when it is actually unconditional hunger...and they put their trust in a meat eater that will attack a child because it is smaller...and the beast figures it can get away with it....well shame on the idots who have no loyalty for their own species. In Toronto dogs rule the city. I have an old Huskey but he is not "part of the family" - he is a dog. I bet you that those who owned the Chimp liked him because he reminded them of the submissive male they always wanted - apparently they were mistaken - Chimpy probably grew older and more aware and dispised humans.

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Or a Pit Bull Terrier....they are pure muscle with an adrenialine gland attached supplimented by a brain the size of a golf ball that screams the ancient carnivor chant - rip rip rip - chew - swallow then lick up the blood...When people get into a tizzy and talk about unconditional love that dogs have when it is actually unconditional hunger...and they put their trust in a meat eater that will attack a child because it is smaller...and the beast figures it can get away with it....well shame on the idots who have no loyalty for their own species.
You're describing Labrador and Golden Retrievers to a "t". They are the ones I'd describe as 100 pounds of fury and hate.
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You're describing Labrador and Golden Retrievers to a "t". They are the ones I'd describe as 100 pounds of fury and hate.

Dogs don't hate - neither do tigers. Nature has it that they are given a mouth that is specifcally designed to rip flesh...cannine or cannine teeth - is derived from carn - niv - devour. Animals are animals - humans are humans - they are not our equals---if we give human rights to dogs and monkeys then in time our rights are dwindled down to that of dogs..There are some jerks who believe we are dogs and they love it as we debase ourselves..it makes for easy rule.

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They sure as hell dont, and neither did she.

Lost both eyes, her chin, her hands....... 200lbs of chimp could toss a 200lb man around like a rag doll in a pit bulls mouth.

Oleg, pits have teeth, not to arms and legs. Big diff !

That went over my head. First I read and absorbed a picture of "pits have teeth" - I acutally saw your hairy arm pits with a row of very sharp teeth....you have to understand I am a literalist fundamental mental case.

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All so: Human being who have inter-species relationships get delluded and actually believe that the creature is human - you see it with dogs..and cats...The human being is not an ape - well maybe some are - frankly I may be related to the ape and with all life forms but my grand father was not one..nor was his...humans are seperate - To humanize an ape or dog for that matter - is cruel and selfish - It put such great strain on the creature and it will never live up to what is expected by the master...so sometimes ..........snap - that cat eats your nose because he is a cat and does not want to be your damned buddy.

True, there are a lot of pet owners, like my mother, who anthropomorphize their dogs and cats and attribute capabilities that are beyond their abilities. But, there are far more dog owners, especially, who make no attempt to learn even a little about the dog's behaviour -- otherwise they wouldn't be so baffled when their dogs are hyper and unruly after being left at home all day.

Cats can be fun pets too, if you start out with the understanding that you can't train them or do a whole lot to modify their behaviour; they are no different than their wild, feral cousins, and to get along with cats, you have to make the compromises. We feel a close bond with dogs because of what we have in common: both humans and dogs are pack animals, and we started domesticating dogs over 10,000 years ago. Animal behaviourists are learning that dogs are complex enough to have a full set of emotional responses, even ones like envy and jealousy, that we previously believed were uniquely human. That's not saying that they think like humans; they obviously don't share our cognitive and reasoning abilities, but knowing that they have complex emotional needs, like us, should be enough for the dog owner to starting thinking of them as animal companions, rather than inert pets that just need food, water and a place to go to the bathroom.

Now when it comes to other primates like chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos etc. -- they share everything we consider uniquely human, aside from conceptual skills like mathematical ability, so they should never be turned into someone's pet in the first place!

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True, there are a lot of pet owners, like my mother, who anthropomorphize their dogs and cats and attribute capabilities that are beyond their abilities. But, there are far more dog owners, especially, who make no attempt to learn even a little about the dog's behaviour -- otherwise they wouldn't be so baffled when their dogs are hyper and unruly after being left at home all day.

Cats can be fun pets too, if you start out with the understanding that you can't train them or do a whole lot to modify their behaviour; they are no different than their wild, feral cousins, and to get along with cats, you have to make the compromises. We feel a close bond with dogs because of what we have in common: both humans and dogs are pack animals, and we started domesticating dogs over 10,000 years ago. Animal behaviourists are learning that dogs are complex enough to have a full set of emotional responses, even ones like envy and jealousy, that we previously believed were uniquely human. That's not saying that they think like humans; they obviously don't share our cognitive and reasoning abilities, but knowing that they have complex emotional needs, like us, should be enough for the dog owner to starting thinking of them as animal companions, rather than inert pets that just need food, water and a place to go to the bathroom.

Now when it comes to other primates like chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos etc. -- they share everything we consider uniquely human, aside from conceptual skills like mathematical ability, so they should never be turned into someone's pet in the first place!

That would be like taking a person afflicted with a brain injury of a developmental impairment and saying - he's just below my level and will make a nice pet. Chimps are pretty close by I refuse to say they have uniquely human qualities..they are not human beings. Are we so lonely and disconnected from the rest of our pack that we attempt to get close to the mutts emotionally...I love all the dogs I had and all the cats...but I would never expect them to fill an emotional void. I saw this with my wife - who suddenly became very dependent on a Jack Russel Wire Haired Terrier...that nasty rat killer by trade...(the dog)..

Eventually she became interested in a man of lower intellect than herself and another need was met - emotional - sexual and the need to control...I have always said if you want control over your environ don't attempt to control others - CONTROL YOUR SELF. With animals that are carnivors..they even though domesticated are still capable of tearing flesh...apparently the wife of 25 years was still capable of tearing the flesh that is my heart. Some just don't know what love is and they are strickly base sensualist- Dogs love to be petted - and they get pleasure though their sensuality. But if you die and lay on the floor - in time that animal will eat the soft tissue - starting at the genitals or the face.... Those who believe that dogs are capable of great spiritual care are delluded..perhaps sometimes there is a dog with the gift - but it is rare - just like with some humans who are not capable of recieving love or giving it.

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Dogs don't hate - neither do tigers. Nature has it that they are given a mouth that is specifcally designed to rip flesh...cannine or cannine teeth - is derived from carn - niv - devour. Animals are animals - humans are humans - they are not our equals---if we give human rights to dogs and monkeys then in time our rights are dwindled down to that of dogs..There are some jerks who believe we are dogs and they love it as we debase ourselves..it makes for easy rule.

You don't address the uniquely vicious nature of Golden and Labrador Retrievers or Newfoundlands.

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That would be like taking a person afflicted with a brain injury of a developmental impairment and saying - he's just below my level and will make a nice pet. Chimps are pretty close by I refuse to say they have uniquely human qualities..they are not human beings.

Who said they were human? The point is there is no great divide between humans and animals! We are only slightly more advanced than the Great Apes -- the only things that are uniquely human are our language and mathematical abilities. The Cerebral Cortex of our ancestors kept growing larger back when we were small, upright walking hominids that had just started venturing out onto the grasslands of East Africa about 3 million years ago. Since those hominids were physically weak and slow compared to other animals on the Savannah, intelligence and resourcefulness became our key to survival.

So our brains grew to the point where our accumulation of knowledge has enabled us to live comfortable lives and change the environment to our liking -- inside, we are still upright walking apes and not a great deal different from the chimpanzees. Genomic analysis shows that we are close cousins who branched off from a common ancestor less than 6 million years ago. So give the Chimpanzees and Gorillas the respect we should give our cousins.......let them have enough suitable habitats where they can live in the wild, without being threatened with extinction.......the last thing they should be is somebody's pets. And the horror story that started this thread illustrates a good reason why....chimpanzees can be aggressive when they reach adulthood, and they are several times stronger than the average man -- so keeping a chimp as a pet is playing with fire.

Are we so lonely and disconnected from the rest of our pack that we attempt to get close to the mutts emotionally...I love all the dogs I had and all the cats...but I would never expect them to fill an emotional void. I saw this with my wife - who suddenly became very dependent on a Jack Russel Wire Haired Terrier...that nasty rat killer by trade...(the dog)..

Eventually she became interested in a man of lower intellect than herself and another need was met - emotional - sexual and the need to control...I have always said if you want control over your environ don't attempt to control others - CONTROL YOUR SELF.

Wow! That is a weird story! So why did your wife become emotionally dependent on the dog? Seems like you're blaming the dog for your own failings.

With animals that are carnivors..they even though domesticated are still capable of tearing flesh...apparently the wife of 25 years was still capable of tearing the flesh that is my heart. Some just don't know what love is and they are strickly base sensualist- Dogs love to be petted - and they get pleasure though their sensuality. But if you die and lay on the floor - in time that animal will eat the soft tissue - starting at the genitals or the face.... Those who believe that dogs are capable of great spiritual care are delluded..perhaps sometimes there is a dog with the gift - but it is rare - just like with some humans who are not capable of recieving love or giving it.

And how many people have turned to cannabalism in similar situations? Are you going to blame a dog or a cat who is trapped in a house with a dead owner for eating the only food available?

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Who said they were human? The point is there is no great divide between humans and animals! We are only slightly more advanced than the Great Apes -- the only things that are uniquely human are our language and mathematical abilities.

It seems to me that's a big like arguing that the only significant difference between a Ferrari and a chuckwagon is the engine. It's arguably true... but it's a pretty huge difference.

Wow! That is a weird story!

By Oleg's standards? That might be the most normal sounding thing he's ever told us about his life.

So why did your wife become emotionally dependent on the dog? Seems like you're blaming the dog for your own failings.

Zing!

-k

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It seems to me that's a big like arguing that the only significant difference between a Ferrari and a chuckwagon is the engine. It's arguably true... but it's a pretty huge difference.

-k

Except that humans and chimpanzees share the same engine (like other mammals). The difference is in the size -- specifically the Prefrontal lobes of the Cortex, where neuroscientists believe that our executive thinking is performed -- according to studies correlated with brain scan data.

The Prefrontal lobes make up about 26% of the Cerebral Cortex in humans, about 17 to 19 % in Great Apes like chimpanzees and gorillas, 7% in dogs, 3% in cats......and those ratios coincide with the intellectual capabilities of these animals when tested.

The point I was trying to get across to Oleg is that the traditional view of humans being something different and superior to animals has been taken apart piece by piece since the time of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace realized that we are part of the Animal Kingdom also, and are only separated and advanced because of the overdevelopment of one area of the brain. The old archaic worldview of being created by a man-like God who gave us dominion over the Earth, to do with it whatever the hell we like, is a major reason why this world is in the mess it is in today. A more humble approach of recognizing that we break the laws of nature at our own peril and trying to maintain ourselves in a way that is sustainable for the long term future, would serve us much better if we hope our descendents have a future to look forward to.

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Except that humans and chimpanzees share the same engine (like other mammals). The difference is in the size -- specifically the Prefrontal lobes of the Cortex, where neuroscientists believe that our executive thinking is performed -- according to studies correlated with brain scan data.

The Prefrontal lobes make up about 26% of the Cerebral Cortex in humans, about 17 to 19 % in Great Apes like chimpanzees and gorillas, 7% in dogs, 3% in cats......and those ratios coincide with the intellectual capabilities of these animals when tested.

The point I was trying to get across to Oleg is that the traditional view of humans being something different and superior to animals has been taken apart piece by piece since the time of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace realized that we are part of the Animal Kingdom also, and are only separated and advanced because of the overdevelopment of one area of the brain. The old archaic worldview of being created by a man-like God who gave us dominion over the Earth, to do with it whatever the hell we like, is a major reason why this world is in the mess it is in today. A more humble approach of recognizing that we break the laws of nature at our own peril and trying to maintain ourselves in a way that is sustainable for the long term future, would serve us much better if we hope our descendents have a future to look forward to.

A habitual cocaine user has both frontal lobes frozen -----and all that is left is the binky blinky thick eye lided eyes out side the socket lizard like thinking.. I wonder once the brain is re-wired though chemical engineering what parts are out of kilter - ever tried to bring out a sense of remorse or guilt in a Prozac addict....? Impossible.......as for me being part of the animal KINGDOM --- nope - no way will I comply to that - and by the way if there is an animal kingdom - Where is the king - show me the king! And a large rat wearing a beer cap sitting on a pop can does not constitute a king. :P

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A habitual cocaine user has both frontal lobes frozen -----and all that is left is the binky blinky thick eye lided eyes out side the socket lizard like thinking.. I wonder once the brain is re-wired though chemical engineering what parts are out of kilter - ever tried to bring out a sense of remorse or guilt in a Prozac addict....?

Wow! I should have known you would take this off to the Twilight Zone......frozen frontal lobes??? I'd ask for an explanation, but maybe it's better to leave it alone.

Impossible.......as for me being part of the animal KINGDOM --- nope - no way will I comply to that
-

It's not an issue of choice! We are what we are. Comparison studies of the human genome with the DNA blueprints of chimpanzees, mice, dolphins, orangutans, sea urchins, cows, honey bees, and several other animals have been sequenced. As expected, the results show us very close to chimpanzees and orangutans, since we branched off from a common ancestor relatively recently in evolutionary history. We share less in common with the other animal groups that we branched off from at earlier stages in the history of life. http://www.hgsc.bcm.tmc.edu/projects/

So, you may be entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own truth! If you want to deny that humans are animals, it's as valid a statement as saying that the Earth is flat.

and by the way if there is an animal kingdom - Where is the king - show me the king! And a large rat wearing a beer cap sitting on a pop can does not constitute a king. :P

Is this a side effect of that brain-freezing you mentioned earlier? The term was coined by Karl Von Linne (Carolus Linnaeus), who created the animal classification system 250 years ago that we use today.

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Back to the topic, Travis was cremated Wednesday (link). Excerpts below:

Travis the chimp crematedPrimate professional had warned pet was 'ticking time bomb'

By Angela Carella

Assistant City Editor

Posted: 02/25/2009 08:55:00 PM EST

STAMFORD -- The 200-pound pet chimpanzee that mauled a Stamford woman nearly to death last week was cremated early Wednesday.

Eileen Donofrio, office manager for All Pets Crematory & Remembrances in Stamford, said Travis the chimp was cremated at the request of the family.

The chimp, owned by Sandra Herold, attacked 55-year-old Charla Nash when she got out of her car in the driveway of Herold's home on Rockrimmon Road on Feb. 16. Nash's face and hands were severely damaged, and she had surgery at Stamford Hospital before she was transferred to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, site of the nation's first face transplant two months ago.

Police shot the chimp outside Herold's home, where its body later was found in its living quarters.

*******snip********
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Heard that the person attacked by the creature that was tired of being human - who went ape...is still in critical condition. It's amazing the damage cause - both hand were eaten clean off and most of her face is missing - These woman who had the monkey should have married instead of having this interspecies relationship.. and If there was a man about the house he would have beat the ape about the head with a bat - instead as in the 911 call - the woman stood there screaming like a little girl - SEE us brutish men are useful - that chimp would have been monkey meat if there was an alpha about ...but apparently these were independent woman - correct me if I am wrong..

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Likely wrong, but we wont ever know.
If the husband were still alive and the wife less lonely, I suspect that chimp would have long been in a sanctuary. I would suspect that this is not the first time Travis became aggressive. Most chimps become unmanageable after 8-10 years and 14 years of dead calm would be most unusual.
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If the husband were still alive and the wife less lonely, I suspect that chimp would have long been in a sanctuary. I would suspect that this is not the first time Travis became aggressive. Most chimps become unmanageable after 8-10 years and 14 years of dead calm would be most unusual.

I left my home years ago to travel and when I got back my own dog tried to bite me because he had taken over the house and thought that he was the new husband to the wife....Animals if treated like humans long enough will attempt to alpha themselves into postions of dominace - some cats rule households...and I guess that this chimp wanted total power and I guess he got it...and got it - once the police arrived.

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  • 3 months later...
I left my home years ago to travel and when I got back my own dog tried to bite me because he had taken over the house and thought that he was the new husband to the wife....Animals if treated like humans long enough will attempt to alpha themselves into postions of dominace - some cats rule households...and I guess that this chimp wanted total power and I guess he got it...and got it - once the police arrived.

I also can only imagine what the chimp and that woman were doing in their spare time.

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