Travis (chimpanzee)

Travis the chimpanzee was born in captivity on October 21, 1995, at Wildlife Education Center in Festus, Missouri. He was raised by Sandra Herold and her husband, Jerome Herold, from the age of three days and was treated as a member of their family. As he grew up, his behavior became increasingly erratic, and in 2009, he made headlines when he attacked Herold’s friend, Charla Nash, leaving her severely disfigured.

Travis was not your average chimpanzee. He was a celebrity in his own right and had previously been featured in TV shows and commercials, including Old Navy and Coca-Cola. Travis was known for his remarkable ability to communicate like humans by using sign language, understanding more than 200 words and grasping around 1000 words in American sign language (ASL). He had a calm and gentle demeanor and was often seen happily riding in the passenger seat of Herold’s car, wearing outfits, and drinking wine from a stemmed glass.

However, all of Travis’s fame came with a price. Growing up, he was isolated from other chimpanzees and subjected to human domestication. Experts say that domesticating a chimpanzee is a recipe for disaster because they are naturally wild and aggressive animals. They have an unpredictable nature, and when they feel threatened, they could become highly dangerous.

On February 16, 2009, a call was made to Stamford Police Department- one that would change Travis’s life forever. Travis had attacked Charla Nash, Herold’s friend, and mauled her in a vicious and brutal attack. Nash was left with a horrific injury to her face, lost both of her hands, and permanently blinded.

The attack was a national headline and sparked a widespread discussion on animal rights, captivity, and the ethics of keeping exotic animals as pets. Travis’s case received national attention, and he was even mentioned in the US Congress by Lori Saldana, the Democratic member of the California State Assembly.

Herold initially kept Travis in her home, hoping that he would recover from the incident, but when media attention started to mount, she realized that she could not keep him any longer. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection ruled that Travis was too unpredictable and dangerous to continue living as a pet.

In 2009, Herold and her husband decided to euthanize Travis after a prolonged stand-off between him and the Connecticut police, which ended with multiple gunshots being fired at Travis. The tragic end of Travis’s life raised many questions about the treatment of exotic animals and the responsibility of pet owners.

In conclusion, the story of Travis’s life is a tragic reminder of the dangers of keeping wild animals as pets. Despite his obvious intelligence and communication skills, Travis was still a wild animal, and his domestication contributed to his violent behavior. He was born into captivity, and his entire life was spent in a human-made environment, far from the natural habitat of chimpanzees.

His story is also a lesson in compassion and respect for all living creatures. Although Travis’s attack was a horrific incident, it was a sign that animals should not be kept in captivity, as it reduces their natural behaviors and instincts. At the very least, Travis’s story leaves us an important message, that animals deserve to be treated with kindness, dignity, and respect, and that wild animals should live in their natural habitats.