Woman's face mauled by 200-lb domesticated chimp

***Equipped_4_Love*** · Nov 14th 2009, 11:24 PM

I'm sure you guys heard about this, but I actually didn't hear about this until today, when a friend told me about her appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show. Apparently, the woman's face and hands were eaten off by this giant chimpanzee. So, I looked her up her Oprah appearance on YouTube. WOW!! She is truly an inspiration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuJQeHYSOXM

As for the woman who owned the chimp, she should definitely be held responsible in some way. Apparently, the woman had become very close with the chimp after the death of her husband and child. Very sad, but even so, wild animals should not be kept as pets. She should have known better.

http://gothamist.com/2009/02/19/chim...surgery_ch.php

If what is written here is true, this is truly disturbing. Why do some people insist on treating their animals like people?!

**slightlypuzzled** · Nov 14th 2009, 11:34 PM

Some people just go animal crazy when it comes to pets. Goldfish and turtles are just not 'it' anymore, and cats and dogs are just too passe'.

***Equipped_4_Love*** · Nov 14th 2009, 11:45 PM

Originally Posted by slightlypuzzled

Some people just go animal crazy when it comes to pets. Goldfish and turtles are just not 'it' anymore, and cats and dogs are just too passe'.

Yes, but sharing glasses of wine and bathing with your chimp? This borders on creepy. It's bad enough that some people dress up their dogs, but "soft kisses and gifts?" It seems almost inevitable that this chimp would lose it eventually, and this poor woman had to pay the price.

**Jeanne D** · Nov 15th 2009, 01:48 AM

Originally Posted by Welder4Christ

Yes, but sharing glasses of wine and bathing with your chimp? This borders on creepy. It's bad enough that some people dress up their dogs, but "soft kisses and gifts?" It seems almost inevitable that this chimp would lose it eventually, and this poor woman had to pay the price.

That is pretty strange. I think she must have been so grief-stricken at the loss of her husband and child, she wasn't thinking clearly.

I don't think people should be allowed to have exotic pets like these. You can't blame the chimp, he was acting on instinct. It's unfortunate that this had to happen.

Jeanne

**Desperaux** · Nov 15th 2009, 01:55 AM

I have followed this story since it started. Very tragic. the chimp owner absolutely treated that animal as a son and called him her son. She even defended her behaviour on a televised article about her relationship with him just after the mauling incident. Of course, she was horrified that a friend was nearly killed and forever maimed and severely disfigured by her pet, but I found her grieving tempered by love and grief over the loss of the chimp and it wasn't very appropriate, in my view.

This woman has the most amazing mindset, and I think a lot of it is due to the benefit of having the loss of memory surrounding the event, and she says she is suffering absolutely no pain! That is so hard to believe and I praise God for that. I pray that this woman and her daughter will find Christ and His peace in all this, if she doesn't know Him already.

***Equipped_4_Love*** · Nov 15th 2009, 02:21 AM

As Charleton Heston would say, "D*** dirty apes!!" LOL

Seriously, though, I agree with you, Des. You can't really blame the chimp. He did look pretty scary in those pics, though.

I also think it's a sad commentary on society that someone would feel the need to establish such a close relationship with a pet. A lot of people feel that their pets are their children...well, this just goes to show that animals are not the same as humans, despite those who think otherwise.

**praetorian2000** · Nov 17th 2009, 06:11 PM

many people in general have the strangest ideas about animals. my father and i were in a vet's office and a dog owner was literally snapping at her dog and even slapping him because the dog growled at someone. "i won't tolerate a dog that bites", she said. she then went on to explain that she had a dog that bit her. 'and what did you do to it?' i wondered.

but the woman with the chimp doesn't bother me as much as the guy in a new york city apartment building with a lion. forget the fact that the owner's life is at risk, other people's lives are at risk.

**Desperaux** · Nov 18th 2009, 01:36 AM

Originally Posted by praetorian2000

many people in general have the strangest ideas about animals. my father and i were in a vet's office and a dog owner was literally snapping at her dog and even slapping him because the dog growled at someone. "i won't tolerate a dog that bites", she said. she then went on to explain that she had a dog that bit her. 'and what did you do to it?' i wondered.

but the woman with the chimp doesn't bother me as much as the guy in a new york city apartment building with a lion. forget the fact that the owner's life is at risk, other people's lives are at risk.

Sheesh, yeah!

I remember when my three children were small, and we had an Old English Sheepdog, named Gaylord--what a wonderful, gentle beast he was! Anyway, we had a neighbour with three young sons and they were not disciplined. The oldest boy was about 5 or 6 at the time and one day we were out on our back deck talking with the kids playing around us.

All of a sudden, Gaylord lunged at young Kristopher with his teeth! I was shocked! I pulled him back and stuck him in the house and started asking what happened. My neighbour was quite agitated at the dog, but as we discovered, apparently, her son had stuck a stick up the dog's nose!

I then told the neighbour that I am not disciplining the dog for doing what came naturally to him, and that she needs to take her son in hand. He wasn't hurt, and there was no mark, but he was sufficiently frightened to perhaps learn a lesson Gaylord taught him rather than his mother.

People need to realize that animals will behave as God has imprinted them to, and obviously, we don't behave the way God has created us to, either.

***Reynolds357*** · Nov 18th 2009, 02:03 AM

An officer I work with at the PD has a large chimp. It is not this big, but it is probably 120 lbs or so. It is pretty violent. He has a lot of problems with it. From what I have seen of it, the actions of this animal do not really surprise me.

***Equipped_4_Love*** · Nov 18th 2009, 02:53 AM

Originally Posted by Reynolds357

An officer I work with at the PD has a large chimp. It is not this big, but it is probably 120 lbs or so. It is pretty violent. He has a lot of problems with it. From what I have seen of it, the actions of this animal do not really surprise me.

From what I understand, monkeys do eat other monkeys in the wild, so it doesn't surprise me that is what he was doing to this poor lady.

***moonglow*** · Nov 18th 2009, 03:07 PM

How awful...

Chimps are fine when they are little..but once they reach puberty, they change..especially the males they get a big surge of testosterone and get extremely aggressive. I feel so sorry for that lady...

***gringo300*** · Nov 23rd 2009, 11:57 AM

It's like this:

ALL ANIMALS ARE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS.

I don't care how tame you think the animal is. IT IS STILL AN ANIMAL.

An animal that would give it's live to protect you 99% of the time WILL attack you under the right circumstances.

**praetorian2000** · Nov 23rd 2009, 03:55 PM

i was at a police station once and a guy came in to file a complaint. he was delivering water and the owner's dog bit him. after the guy left, the police were talking among themselves not aware that i was in another room and could hear them. they basically said that there was nothing they could do because the delivery person was on the dog's property. and even though the owner put the dog in another room and got out and bit the delivery guy, the dog did what was natural. and the woman wasn't at fault. she did the best he could. but who knows what the delivery person may have inadvertently done to the dog.

granted many of us treat our animals like people and some are almost like people in some of their behaviors (after we spoilt them), we gotta remember, they are animals. and they were designed to react a certain way.