WHY CHIMP WENT BANANAS ON GAL SHAKEN OWNER RELIVES NIGHTMARE ATTACK ON PAL Comments: 97Read CommentsLeave a Comment By CHRISTINA CARREGA and PERRY CHIARAMONTE in Stamford, Conn., and JEREMY OLSHAN in New York, AP
TRAGIC FRIEND: Charla Nash was horribly disfigured by rampaging chimp Travis, here gently nuzzling her hand two years ago.
Last updated: 10:04 am February 18, 2009 Posted: 1:33 am February 18, 2009
Each night, Sandra Herold and her beloved chimp, Travis, would share a glass of wine before snuggling in bed together.
The Connecticut widow says she still cannot fathom how that loving animal, whom she raised as her "child," could turn violent, but when he began to maul her friend Charla Nash Monday, Herold said she didn't hesitate to stop him - even if it meant killing him.
"I had to get a shovel, then a knife to get Travis off of Charlie," the visibly shaken woman said yesterday. "It was very difficult to do this, but I had to save my friend. I am so sorry for what happened to Charlie. She is my dear friend."
The violence began shortly after Travis consumed a meal of fish and chips and then Carvel ice cream, Herold said. He then went outside and couldn't be coaxed back in. She tried to give Travis tea with Xanax to calm him, but he wouldn't drink it, she said.
Herold, 70, phoned Nash for help getting Travis back into the house.
"When she came out of her car that she doesn't normally drive, I don't think Travis recognized her," Herold said. "She was greeting him with a teddy bear, and that's when he went wild."
Travis had known Nash for years, but he might have been confused by her new hairstyle.
"She had just got her hair done. It used to be long and brown, but she changed it to short and blond and fluffy," she said.
When Travis unleashed his fury on Nash, Herold stabbed the chimp repeatedly with a butcher's knife and called 911.
"Oh, my God! He's eating her! He's eating her face!" she screamed. When one of the first responders arrived, he mistakenly believed that Nash - who cops said was mauled for about 12 minutes - was a man because she was so mangled.
"We got to get him out of here. He's got no face," the emergency worker said on the 911 tape.
The rampage ended when a cop shot and killed Travis.
Herold could face criminal charges, Stamford police Capt. Richard Conklin said.
Nash, who sustained horrific injuries to her face and hands, had surgery at Stamford Hospital and will be transferred to a hospital in Ohio for extensive reconstructive surgery, friends said.
The injuries are "life-changing, if not life-threatening," Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy said.
Connecticut is reviewing whether Herold should have even had the animal. State law requires anyone who owns a primate heavier than 50 pounds to obtain a state permit. Herold was exempt because she'd had Travis since before the law was passed.
Dennis Schain, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, added that "over the years the animal didn't appear to present a public-safety risk."
Travis was known throughout Stamford, particularly because of a 2003 incident in which he stopped traffic after exiting Herold's car - and for his appearances in commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola.
Some neighbors say that while Travis was for the most part friendly, he did at times become aggressive.
"He attacked people quite a few times," said Don Mecca, a friend of both Nash and Herold.
Zookeepers have been lobbying Congress to make it illegal to keep such animals as pets, as it is in New York City.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
It isn't at all wise to take a wild animal in because they operate on instinct, not reason. The lady that was attacked was probably in some way threatening in appearance or smell. For instance her hair could be standing up from static and a monkey or any other animal doesn't see (through it's eyes) the same way a human does, the victim could have looked 10 feet tall and menacing. The addition of the 'teddy bear' could be seen by the beast as a double threat or a threat to it's primacy. We will never really know now, will we?
The problem with humans is that we idealize animals and give them human traits in our own minds. We are so egocentric that we imagine they see the same way through their eyes as we see through ours. Sadly this is not the case.
Once again, our inability to recognize facts as opposed to feelings gets us in trouble. "Oh it was a loving creature." Well love has nothing to do with it. Survival does, and survival is the animals first and foremost instinct. Sorry, liberals. I am sure to be ripped apart by animal 'lovers' over this post, but the beasts you bring into your home, whether a kitty cat, dog or primate, could kill you or your children, just 'because.'
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
The violence began shortly after Travis consumed a meal of fish and chips and then Carvel ice cream, Herold said. He then went outside and couldn't be coaxed back in. She tried to give Travis tea with Xanax to calm him, but he wouldn't drink it, she said.
Like this is normal, huh?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
yeah, add psychotropic drugs to the mix and what do you expect!
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
She use to sleep with the chimp too! I won't go there...........
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Owner of slain chimp says it wasn’t medicated BY JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN The Associated Press
STAMFORD, Conn. — As authorities considered criminal charges, the woman whose 200-pound domesticated chimpanzee went berserk and mauled a friend backtracked Wednesday on whether she gave the animal the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. Sandra Herold told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she never gave the drug to her 14-yearold chimp, Travis, who was shot dead by Stamford police Monday after he grievously wounded Herold’s friend Charla Nash. However, Herold said in an interview aired Wednesday morning on NBC’s “Today” show that she gave Travis the drug in some tea less than five minutes before he attacked Nash — she even showed a reporter the mug. Police have said Herold told them that she gave Travis Xanax that had not been prescribed for him earlier on Monday to calm him because he was agitated. In humans, Xanax can lead to aggression in people who are unstable to begin with, said Dr. Emil Coccaro, chief of psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “Xanax could have made him worse,” if human studies are any indication, Coccaro said. The chimpanzee’s rampage forced Herold to stab her beloved pet with a butcher knife and pound him with a shovel. “For me to do something like that — put a knife in him — was like putting one in myself.” she said Wednesday. “Then he turned around and was like, ‘Mom, what did you do?’ ” Herold’s voice was filled with fear and horror in 911 tapes released by police Tuesday night. Travis can be heard grunting as she cries for help: “He’s killing my friend!” The dispatcher says, “Who’s killfriend?” Herold replies, “My chimpanzee! He ripped her apart! Shoot him, shoot him!” After police arrived, one offi cer radioed back: “There’s a man down. He doesn’t look good,” he says, referring to the disfigured Nash. “We’ve got to get this guy out of here. He’s got no face.” Doctors at Stamford Hospital said Wednesday that it took four teams of surgeons more than seven hours to stabilize Nash, 55. Hand specialists, plastic surgeons and specialists in orthopedics, ophthalmology and trauma have treated Nash, who has made slight progress but remained in critical condition, Dr. Kevin Miller said at a news conference with the victim’s family. Nash’s brother, Mike Nash, did not take questions from reporters but said the family is grateful for the community support it has received. “It should be known that people who were complete strangers to us prior to this have selflessly offered their assistance to our family,” he said. “We are eternally grateful to them and to all of you who are keeping Charla in your thoughts and wishing her well.” Police have said they are looking into the possibility of criminal charges. A pet owner who knew or should have known that an animal was a danger to others can be held criminally responsible. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday that a defect in Connecticut’s laws allowed Herold to keep the chimp in her home, probably illegally. There are rules requiring large primates to be registered by the state, but officials have some discretion in .................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00203
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