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Charla Nash attacked by chimpanzee similar to one pictired
Charla Nash was attacked by a vicious chimpanzee, and appeared on Oprah yesterday, 11-10-09, revealing extremely disturbing wounds. The chimp ripped, or bit off Charla's hands, nose, lips, eyelids, and broke bones in her face, in what must have been an absolutely gruesome experience. She is now blind as well.
Live Science reports that the chimp was taking Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication used in humans. Canines given Xanax, or benzodiazepines, have demonstrated increased agression when on the substance.
According to rxlist.com, Xanax is meant for the short-term treatment of anxiety disorders, up to 10 weeks. One of its side effects is mania, and other untoward problems. Given to a chimp, there is no telling what may happen.
CBS News reported in May 2009 that "Police say toxicology tests showed Travis was drugged with Xanax..." No prescription for the medication was found, and Stamford police Captain Richard Conklin said that, "It looks like third-party Xanax, and certainly it's questionable whether she should have administered it to her pet."
These drugs may work in instances of controlled research studies on animals, but when it comes to humans, the outcome may be totally different. Was Travis' owner even qualified to give him medication of this sort?
A 200 pound chimp needing Xanax is about as big a red flag as you can get. Primates are extremely powerful animals, and a 200 pound chimp could give Mike Tyson a run for the belt, if not kick his rear-end in.
Chimpanzees have a life span in the wild of 30 to 40 years, in captivity longer. Males weigh an average of 198 pounds and females 176. These primates have the strength of 6 to 7 men when reaching approximately 160 pounds. And as seen with the attack on Charla Nash, these animals can be very dangerous.
A Connecticut biologist was waving red flags in March of this year about the chimpanzee Travis. CBS News quoted the biologist as saying, ""I would like to express the urgency of addressing this issue. It is an accident waiting to happen." And that accident did happen with vicious efficiency.
But feeding a chimp Xanax was probably not a wise thing to do, because as seen in animal trials with rats, mice, and monkeys, they too develope drug addictions, and tolerance. In the case of Travis, was he addicted to Xanax? Was he getting enough? Was his psychotic outburst a side-effect of the medication? We will never know for sure.
One thing is for sure, keeping an animal around the size of a small gorilla, with the strength of 7 men who needs Xanax to calm down is not the best decision the owner ever made. In addition, how long was the owner feeding this animal drugs that are addictive?
Can animals benefit from behavioral medications?
It is unfortunate that this happened to these folks, but all the more reason to treat these animals with the respect they deserve. The respect being that they are essentially wild animals no matter how trained, and loving. They are still capable of turning on their keepers in a heartbeat. And of course, giving animals medications designed for humans is a practice that should never be done without veterinary supervision. Humans have enough problems with drug abuse, and addiction as it is. Keep the animals out of it.
*If you or a loved one needs help with any type of drug problem, contact these sites depending on where you live. SEMCA (Wayne County residents), CARE (Macomb County residents), PACE (Oakland County residents), Drug Free Detroit (City of Detroit residents). For those residing outside the State of Michigan, contact SAMHSA for assistance.
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Charla Nash's first interview with Oprah
(Photo by David Shay Wikimedia Commons)
Comments
Try not to use the word "beast" quite so often -- chimpanzees are over 98% genetically similar to us. It does not mean that chimpanzees should ever be kept as pets (thank you for mentioning that) but it should be well-documented that adult chimps are FAR stronger than even Mike Tyson.
Good article, Michael
This isn't about him having been "addicted" to a drug. He was a wild animal & as such he should not be expected to conform to our societal bounds. The woman who kept this poor chimp confined in her home is the real beast. My prayers go out to Charla and to Travis; two innocent victims.
Is a chimp stronger than Kimbo Slice?
Chimps may be 98% genetically similar to us, but a chimp on the loose is still as dangerous as say a tiger or a bear.
The situation is terribly sad for all those involved. No one should have a wild animal as a pet. I feel so sorry for Charla Nash. He wasn't even her chimp and look what happened to her.
Actually Laura, you are right, beast is not the right word, and I am changing it.
Thanks for changing it. "Beast" just has some really derogatory connotations, and yes, an angry chimp can be violent, but he is violent with his strength and teeth not unlike an angry human with a gun or a knife. I don't know when we started perceiving our society's violence as "more cultured," just because we use *tools* to do it.
I agree with Pilar. Charla and Travis were the innocent victims. In my opinion, the total responsibility resides with the owner, Sandra Herold.
Yes, Travis was a wild animal and confined as a "pet"...under very unusual circumstances. However, I believe the drugs paid a major role, if not the total role, in Travis being beyond aggressive the day of the attack. That day was obviously not the first time Travis was given these two addictive substances, alcohol (wine) and Xanax.
Ms. Herold raised Travis as a human, and her partner. It is not a long stretch to presume Travis was given these drugs a-long-time-back. Wine first as a social relaxant, and later, Xanax (& alcohol) to control him, aggressive or not. But maybe Travis did not care to sleep or bathe with Ms. Herold. Did not care to dine by candlelight.
Maybe Travis would be happy with a bunch of bananas in a tree!
But a glass of wine and/or a tablet of Xanax was a good persuasion. Mind control.
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