The chimp is not being “vicious” nor acting out an “asshole gene.” It was just being true to its nature which, unlike human beings, knows no moral code. To describe it as vicious is to anthopomorphize still more.
I hear ya , Dorothy. Reading the story, of course, I feel first for the person attacked. But, in the whole scope, I also have great sympathy for the chimpanzee, living in an unnatural situation, acting on impulse, who knows if it was the Xanax or instinctive behaviour. I don’t want to anthromorphise, but, still, the chimpanzee went through great terror in it all, without understanding why. I 'm sad about an intelligent creature going through that, and also sad that he was denied the right to live like he should, with his own species, and allowed to express all chimp tendencies in a balanced manner, with reciprocity in kind.
Very sad over this, for all us ape-like folderall. 
Her face and hands. The friend was a woman, but she had been so badly mutilated that, by the time the police arrived, they didn’t realize it was a woman–that’s why on one of the tapes, you hear a cop say “We’ve got to get this guy out of here. He’s got no face.”
Let me repeat that last line for you:
"He’s got no face."
:eek:
Urp. Thanks, I suppose, for the clarification. Yeek.
I have to echo those that decry having such an animal as a pet. WTF, seriously?
Chimps are good for the random *Lancelot Link Secret Chimp *episode, and that’s it, outside of the occaisonal “Chimps In Space” casting…a role which they are apparently well-suited for.
To be fair, at least St. James wasn’t attacked by HIS pet. Moe, it seems, must have been really, REALLY passive. Still, it wasn’t right to keep him as a pet-as he seems to have run off, and now no one can find the poor creature, so he’s probably starving somewhere. That’s just not right.
Still, that’s not NEARLY as bad as the woman in the first article. Fucking moron-and her friend has to suffer for her stupidity.
Damn, I’m sticking with my cats. And I’m not even going to yell at Buffy when she grabs my legs with her claws to get my attention!
My mind keeps wandering to Koko, the gorilla who uses sign-language, and has pet cats. But then, she’s in a sanctuary
Good lord, is the woman who was mauled alive? I didn’t read anything about her being dead…how awful! I mean, how awful to die, but also to be faceless. All because her owner wanted a “cute” pet.
I agree in terms of cuddliness, OTOH I find the biological and taxonomic aspects to be fascinating. Forty-five years ago chimps in the wild were thought to be more or less the non-human equivalent of noble savages, living peacefully together in large bands. Violence between chimp bands, or inflicted by chimps on other individuals or species was considered to be extremely rare. We now know better; they seem to be quite capable of violence in a way that is not surprising for a genus that shares 99 percent of its DNA with humans. Cute and cuddly? Sure, if you like something that weighs 200 pounds, has the strength of all the Pittsburgh Steelers put together, and the mentality and disposition of a cranky toddler.
Chefguy, most of the chimps you see portrayed as “cute” are very young. As noted, adult chimps are just too difficult and dangerous to handle.
Inigo would shit on the ground and fling his poo at his adversaries, did not wear clothes, plucked and ate parasites from his comrades, and mauled his siblings for rights to the banana bush. He also spoke only in grunts and chuffs, once even beat his chest in a display of dominance. But then it all changed when he unexpectedly donned denims and a t-shirt, grabbed a rifle and began shooting the other chimps yelling, “Git you some!” The incident ended sadly for Inigo as his limbs were dislocated and his gonads chewed from his body.
And yet could Still be elected president…
Yes. I read earlier that she’s had seven hours of surgery with four teams of surgeons, with many more surgeries to come.
This recent NY Times story says she’s showing slight improvement.
There is nothing wrong with describing a vicious animal as vicious, at least in English:
vi·cious (vĭsh’əs) Pronunciation Key
adj.
- Having the nature of vice; evil, immoral, or depraved.
- Given to vice, immorality, or depravity.
- Spiteful; malicious: vicious gossip.
- Disposed to or characterized by violent or destructive behavior. See Synonyms at cruel.
- Marked by an aggressive disposition; savage. Used chiefly of animals.
- Severe or intense; fierce: a vicious storm.
- Faulty, imperfect, or otherwise impaired by defects or a defect: a forced, vicious style of prose.
- Impure; foul.
vi⋅cious /ˈvɪʃəs/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [vish-uhs] Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. addicted to or characterized by vice; grossly immoral; depraved; profligate: a vicious life.
2. given or readily disposed to evil: a vicious criminal.
3. reprehensible; blameworthy; wrong: a vicious deception.
4. spiteful; malicious: vicious gossip; a vicious attack.
5. unpleasantly severe: a vicious headache.
6. characterized or marred by faults or defects; faulty; unsound: vicious reasoning.
7. savage; ferocious: They all feared his vicious temper.
8. (of an animal) having bad habits or a cruel or fierce disposition: a vicious bull.
9. Archaic. morbid, foul, or noxious.
That’s just silly. Humans are animals no less than chimps, and have many behavioral traits in common. I was pointing out that the chimp’s behavior is not beyond the pale compared to the horrors humans inflict upon one another. We go to war; so do they. We murder one another; so do they.
It’s not pretty, and I would have designed the world differently. But it’s not an slander to describe chimps as vicious, any more than it’s inaccurate to describe them as having ten-fingered hands.
Ah. That poor, poor woman. Is she ever going to be able to continue to be friends with the owner of the chimp? I just can’t imagine being able to do that.
Cases as bad as that always make me think the victim would have preferred to go, instead of rescued.
That owner lady is a bucket of morons.
I have to say that I would also do a double-take if I were a 911 operator and a woman called screaming hysterically about a chimpanzee tearing people’s faces off.
Hmmm…I don’t see them hanging out years from now laughing about that time in '09 when that monkey tore her face off.
I wonder about this…
I’m always the kind of person who would rather be paralyzed, no legs, no sight, etc., etc., than be dead. But when I heard this morning that this woman has “lost her eyes, nose and jaw”…
:eek:
Improvement, ha!
Is that to say that the number of faces or appendages she’s missing has come down a bit?
BTW does anyone know if the loser in a chimp-on-chimp fight ever gets mauled this badly, or is the loser always still strong enough to fend off such a beating?
Many years ago a neighbour of ours had a “pet” monkey. It was not a Chimpanzee, it was a monkey. Mr. Neighbour thought it was “cute” but no one else did, including Mrs. Neighbour. These people operated a kids’ “dude ranch”, the monkey was one of the “attractions” like the miniature horses and the peacocks, etc. There was a constant stream of people coming and going and the poor monkey was, I suppose, in a constant state of excitement, feeling threatened, whatever. While I loathed the little brute, I felt sorry for it. It sure as hell wasn’t living a “natural monkey life”.
One day it went nutzier than usual and escaped from its cage and bit a couple of kids and then shot up onto the roof of the house and on to the top of the TV antenna where it swung itself about, shrieking and pooping and peeing and just carrying on like, a you know, nutzy monkey. Mr. Neighbour wasn’t home and Mrs. Neighbour was, as they say, beside herself. She phoned our house and asked my Dad to come over and shoot it. Which he did.
My Dad was a really good shot and he got the poor thing right in the head and it let go of the TV antenna and tumbled down, dead as a doornail. There was absolute silence except for the echo of the rifle shot and the sound of its body hitting the dormers, etc., and finally sliding off the roof of the back porch. Then a bunch of kids started crying and the mums and dads were horrified and my Dad picked the dead thing up and even though he was not a monkey fan he says he felt terrible.
I remember reading about Mr. St. James Davis. I can’t work up much pity for him. Apes should not be made into pets, it is cruel and inhumane and he got what he had coming, even if it wasn’t his own “pet” that attacked him.
I don’t know, but I once saw a doc that showed a lone chimp in the forest that had gotten too close to a band. Actually, as I recall, they band of chimps picked up the scent and tracked him down. Did pretty much the same damage as happend to Mr. Davis and this recent lady. Dismembered, neutered, face chewed, and killed.
I’ve wondered about a fight between a gorilla and chimp. Gotta hand it to the gorilla for the strength advantage, but chimps are just effin’ brutal.