25 of the worst attacks by exotic pets

(Photo: Chanyut Sribua-rawd / iStockPhoto)

On February 16, a 15-year-old chimpanzee named Travis seriously mauled a woman who was visiting the animal's owner, Sandra Herold, at a home in Stamford, Connecticut. Herold made a terrified, shrieking 911 call and tried stabbing Travis with a butcher knife.

When police arrived the chimp went after them, going so far as to open a cruiser door. He was shot several times, and eventually succumbed.

Travis had been a beloved pet who once appeared in major TV commercials, and who was known and loved in the community. He was toilet trained, dressed and bathed himself, and ate at the family dinner table (he even sipped his own wine from a glass).

Travis' story is horrific and tragic. Luckily this kind of thing isn't common, but it does remind us of the tangled mess of problems, dangers, and ethical questions surrounding the exotic pet trade. For the most part, exotic animals do not make good pets, and the industry that supports them takes a heavy toll on human and animal health, as well as the environment.

There are some who advocate for responsible exotic animal ownership, but most mainstream conservation, animal rights, and animal welfare groups oppose the practice. Here's why:

• According to the Humane Society of the U.S., exotic animals can spread diseases (including hepatitis B, salmonella, flu, and monkey pox).
• The harvesting of exotic animals can threaten endangered species and habitats.
• Captive breeding programs can be cruel and filthy, and exotic animals are often bored.
• They can live nearly as long as human beings, and so require constant intensive care, often beyond what owners are able to provide (remember the tiger and gator in the Harlem apartment?).
• Exotic pets are not well-regulated. Those who don't breed or exhibit big cats, for example, don't have to get a license to keep them as pets.

Here's a list of some of the worst exotic pet attacks:

Pet Primate Attacks

• According to this Esquire piece, St. James Davis was brutally attacked by two chimps at a sanctuary, after he and his wife arrived for a visit to celebrate the 39th birthday of Moe, the chimp they had kept as a pet for years.

Other incidents of note (Source):

• A 14-year-old girl was hospitalized after a pet rhesus macaque monkey escaped from a cage (August 2006; Chicago).
• A monkey reached through a car window and grabbed and bit a drive-through worker while the primate's owner was picking up an order (June 2005; Morehead, Kentucky).
• A man took his pet capuchin monkey out to a restaurant. It escaped and scratched up a diner (November 2001; Cleveland, Ohio).
• A woman who was eight months pregnant was hospitalized after one of her two pet rhesus macaques attacked her while their cages were being cleaned. She had allegedly been inspired to purchase the monkeys after seeing them ride bicycles in a circus (August 2000; Jessamine County, Kentucky).
• A 2-year-old Bonnet macaque brought into a bar caused a brawl, in which several people were bitten (April 1999; Glen Burnie, Maryland).
• An escaped pet monkey wielding a knife and cigarette lighter, entered a standoff with police (June 1995; Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania).
• Actor Elizabeth Hurley was bitten on the ear by a chimpanzee while appearing on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" (September 28, 1996; Los Angeles, California).

Warning: This video contains some scenes of violence and is intended for mature viewers. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on here, but based on the blog linked from YouTube, it is most likely in Thailand.

Lions, Tigers, Oh My! — Big Cat Pet Attacks

• Perhaps the most famous recent tiger attack occurred October 3, 2003, when Roy Horn (of Siegfried and Roy) was bitten by the 600-pound white tiger, Montecore, at The Mirage in Las Vegas — on the performer's 59th birthday, no less. The 7-year-old tiger had been born in captivity and raised entirely by human beings. Although he was a performing animal, Montecore was also a close personal pet of Horn. 

• In another tragic tiger encounter, a 10-year-old girl helping her stepfather groom a big cat died after the tiger clamped her head in its jaws.
• In 2005 in Little Falls, Minnesota, a lion and tiger owned by auto mechanic Chuck Mock reportedly bolted from their cage and pounced on a 10-year-old boy.
• Think fences will keep you safe? In 2003 in Millers Creek, North Carolina, Ruth Bynum's 400-pound Bengal tiger dragged her 10-year-old nephew under a fence and into its cage, where the boy eventually died. 
• In March 2000 in Channelview, Texas, a 3-year-old boy lost his arm to his uncle's "pet" tiger.
• In August 2005 in Clackamas, Oregon, an escaped pet lynx pounced on a 6-year-old girl and began clawing her head.
• In April 1997 in Dallas, Texas, a pet bobcat mauled a toddler, who lost a finger, part of his heel, and a bit of his cheek.

Pet Bear Attacks

We all know what happened to Timothy Treadwell, who got too close to wild bears. Unfortunately there have been "Bad News Bears" among pets, too. Source:

• A 600-pound pet black bear, who had been kept in a 15 ft. by 15 ft. cage for a decade, bit and nearly severed the hand of a 6-year-old boy who tried to pet him while on his grandfather's farm (April 1998; Reform, Missouri).
• An 8-year-old girl suffered a broken arm after being clawed by a neighbor's 6-foot-tall, 300-pound pet black bear (December 1996; Coal County, Oklahoma).
• An 8-year-old boy lost part of his finger to his great-grandmother's "pet" bear (September 1996; Whitmire, South Carolina).
• A man was mauled to death by his brother-in-law's bear when he entered its pen during feeding time. That bear was also killed (September 1993; Newberg Township, Michigan).
• Then there's this genius. A man had his ankle mangled after participating in a bear "wrestling" event sponsored by Jungleworld Animal Rental Agency. Bear wrestling?? (February 1992; DaneCounty, Wisconsin)

Pet Reptile Attacks

• In August 28, 1999, in Centralia, Illinois, a 3-year-old-boy was strangled to death by the family's pet 7.5-foot African rock python. The boy had been sleeping with an aunt and uncle near the snake's aquarium at the time.
• A Virginia man who was keeping 50 to 60 venomous snakes in his basement (despite the fact that he had young kids in the house) ended up "bitten" by his hobby in 2001. Tom Townsend was apparently feeding a rat to his pet spectacled cobra (which comes from India) when it lunged at him. Townsend's life was saved in the nick of time after he was airlifted for antivenin treatment.
• An Oregon collector was bit after putting a rattlesnake in his mouth. It's a bit unclear if the rattlesnake in this incident was truly a pet, but according to accounts, the young man by the name of Matt Wilkinson from Portland, Oregon, had been keeping a reptile he'd found near the side of a road. Allegedly, Wilkinson was relaxing with his girlfriend and some beers, when he decided to try to impress her by sticking the 20-inch rattler in his mouth. Perhaps surprising to no one, the young man was bitten. He was rushed to a hospital and received a tracheotomy.

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