Charla Nash | The victim of preventable tragedy

Charla Nash appears on Oprah 9 months after attack

Charla Nash appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show on November 11th, to

From Wikimedia Commons

update the world on her status almost 9 months after being the victim of a horrific mauling by a chimpanzee.  She is blind, cannot eat solid food, and lives at the Cleveland Clinic, the esteemed hospital where the first face transplant was carried out on American soil.  It takes a very brave person to want to appear on TV in that state.  In the wake of the attack, her family has set up a trust fund, where people may donate quick cash to help pay her medical expenses and support her in general.

A real “animal lover” desires preservation of habitats, not a pet

There seems to be a real sick fascination with having certain animals as “pets.” For instance, lions, tigers, bears (oh my! – how am I not supposed to make that joke?) and chimpanzees.  Elvis had a pet chimp, so did Michael Jackson.  (Both animals, Scatter and Bubbles, respectively, had to be gotten rid of after they grew violent, by the way.)  They are a popular fixture on television, and some people will event rent a chimpanzee for parties.  Let me assure you, they are not an animal you want around either you or your children, at all.  Perhaps the foremost expert on chimpanzee behavior, Jane Goodall, posted this opinion piece in the wake of the incident.

Here comes some learning

Despite what you see on TV, in magazines, or movies starring a former President they aren’t cute, cuddly, and safe.  (Well, they can be in infancy.  Once they get a bit older – not so much.)  An adult chimp can stand over 5 feet tall, and weigh up to 150 pounds.  They are 5 times stronger than the average human.   Furthermore, chimpanzees are territorial and can be very aggressive in the wild.  They have, and this is documented, killed human infants.  (One of Jane Goodall’s subjects did just that in Africa – a 14 month old baby.)  They carry out what amounts to tribal warfare, and males will kill infants in order to mate with the mother.  Goodall herself was almost beaten to death, and Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson, visiting the preserve where Goodall did her field studies, was also attacked and injured. They do live in troops, so the life of a chimpanzee isn’t necessarily solitary, but is nasty, cruel, brutish, and short.  Oh, and might we also mention AIDS and the Ebola virus?

At what point should it stop?

People and wild animals don’t mix very well, period.  Stick to a normal pet, like dogs, cats, the smaller and more manageable (and non-venomous) reptiles, birds, and fish, people.  Charla Nash will never see again, as her eyes had to be removed due to infection, and she wears a veil around the hospital she lives in.  She’s a brave and strong woman.  People are inclined to ask why it happened – was Travis infected with rabies?  He was negative for rabies – he just did what was in his nature, as a chimpanzee.  They aren’t pets.  They are wild animals, capable of killing a full grown person with ease.  Get some quick cash for a rabbit instead.