Comments on: Chimp Attack Victim In Critical Condition

By: G. de La Hoya

G. de La Hoya — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:38:49 +0000

Sucks to be him. Don’t mess with a caged animal no matter how large the cage. Receiving a degree from the School of Hard-Knocks can be detrimental to your well-being.

By: peteyweestro

peteyweestro — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 21:37:00 +0000

I feel for this guy and truly wish him the best and a speedy recovery. I also remember watching those same two chimps that attacked him on the Animal Planet show called Chimp Eden. The strange thing is that the one they called Mickey was actually raised as a human child for the first few years of its life. He was shaved down completely wore children’s clothes and ate with utensils at the dinner table with everyone else, he even took baths. Maybe that early experience scarred him for life and made him want revenge or something, they do say chimps in the wild exhibit gang type mentalities and behaviors. The other one named Amodeus was the alpha chimp in the adult enclosure so that was probably enough to make him show this poor guy who was boss. Chimps are surely not the cute little things like Cheetah a’la Tarzan fame!

By: Jonathan Poulsen

Jonathan Poulsen — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 18:04:22 +0000

Also, I heard that his passion for chimpanzees dates back to the 7th grade. Poor guy, I wonder if this has changed his views towards primatology and his willingness to partake in field research?

By: windigo

windigo — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 17:54:05 +0000

My heart goes out to this young man, and his experience should serve as another example of the untamed ferocity of that the animal kingdom can produce. It also raises a couple of interesting questions that that should be addressed. One is how secure a fence is it when an adult male can be pulled underneath it? Second, and I believe this might prevent many an animal mauling in the future, why are all staff and researchers at exhibits such as this not required to carry a form of chemical deterrent (i.e. Oleoresin Capsicum)? It’s non-lethal and, I can tell you from experience, an excellent means of discouraging an attack from a large animal. It may not be the answer in all cases, but it still presents an option worth having access to.