The horrific incident in Connecticut involving an out of control chimpanzee mauling a woman and leaving her near death raises a few questions. It all begins with the chimp being kept by a woman as a house pet for many years. But the animal's incarceration wasn't really the kind that the average pet would be subjected to. Not only did the chimp sleep in the owner's bed, but he was subjected to the owner getting too close emotionally. She often fed him lavish meals such as lobster and fillet mignon at candlelight dinners. The relationship grew to more than the average owner/pet relationship. One day last week, the owner's friend dropped by for a visit and the chimpanzee wound up turning on the friend in what experts termed as a jealous like rage.
My first question would address the wild animal's inevitable need to be removed for the owner's as well as the public safety. Was this woman's mind so one sided that she never even gave this consideration? These creatures are accustomed to living in the wild and adapting to the human environment is not natural to them. As far as the closeness is concerned, we all adapt a kind of bond to pets, domesticated ones that is, but they don't usually turn on us the way this chimp did. No matter how we may look at this incident, the ultimate blame should not be placed on the chimpanzee.
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