On the 16th of February 2009 at around 3:40 p.m. an adult male chimpanzee named
Travis who had been kept as a beloved and pampered pet for many years went
berserk, mauling and severely injuring a 55-year-old woman. This prolonged assault
continued until police arrived on scene and shot Travis dead. What triggered the
violent attack will forever remain a mystery.
Travis was born at a chimpanzee sanctuary in Missouri on October 21st
1995. He was soon adopted by Sandra and Jerome Herold who named him after their
favorite singer Travis Tritt. The Herold's raised Travis at their home in
Stamford, Connecticut where he was treated as a much-loved pet. He would
ride with the Herold's as they went to work or went shopping, and pose for
photos in their truck. He was well known and liked by the residents of the town
and was even the subject of a great deal of love and affection from local law
enforcement, who saw him as a quirky but lovable pet.
neighbor Tony Macari even used to wrestle with Travis on a regular basis.
He noted that the animal was always extremely careful when playing and knew
when to stop. Indeed, according to Tony Macari, Travis listened to instructions
better than his own nephews. Travis could dress himself, water plants, feed hay to
the Herold's horses, eat at a table with the rest of the family, and drink wine
from a glass. He could use keys to open doors and log into the family computer
to look at pictures. He watched baseball on television and used the remote
control to change channels. He brushed his own teeth and drove a car once or
twice and even learned the schedule of local ice-cream trucks so that he knew
when to expect one of his favorite treats. Indeed, Travis was so well-behaved
and capable that he starred in several commercials for brands which included
Pepsi and Old Navy. He was a guest on the Maury Povich Show and was even featured
in a television pilot that never got off the ground. All things considered he had
quite a career. One or two incidents do stand out from this otherwise glowing
track record. In October 2003, for example, Travis was riding in the Herold's
car when he was hit by an object thrown by a passing pedestrian. The chimp let
himself out of the car and chased the offending individual, who fled the scene;
a sensible move when confronted with a 200-pound angry chimp. The police were
called and a slapstick chase ensued wherein they would tempt Travis back
into the car with cookies, ice cream, and macadamia nuts... only for Travis to
immediately let himself out again once he'd had a snack. He chased officers
playfully around the car and held up traffic for several hours. It was only
once he became tired that he was eventually subdued with a tranquilizer
dart. Although nobody was injured this incident did lead to a tightening of
regulation. Thereafter anyone who wished to own an exotic pet in the state of
Connecticut would have to apply for a permit. This law was, however, not enforced
on the Herold's since they had owned Travis
so long. In a separate incident a woman who lived in the same area as the
Herold's alleged that Travis bit her and tried to pull her into a car sometime in
1996. While this does seem like a more serious cause for concern, no record of
the incident can be found, despite the woman noting that she
reported it to the police. Despite these blips Travis was
considered by one and all to be harmless, well-socialized, and charming. That all
changed on the 16th of February 2009. By this time,
sadly, Jerome Herold had died of cancer and the family towing business was run
largely by 70 year-old Sandra Herold. She was assisted in this by employee and
friend Charla Nash, who helped run the business, look after Travis, and keep
Sandra's personal life in order. On this particular day Travis had taken
Sandra's car keys and left the house. Sandra called Charla so that she could
come over and help her tempt the chimp back inside. Charla, who was very familiar
with the animal, took one of his favorite toys (a Tickle-Me-Elmo doll) and went
outside the house. The moment Travis set eyes on her he launched a vicious attack,
biting and tearing at her face and hands. Against the 200 pound muscle-bound
animal Charla was completely defenseless. Sandra did her best to save her friend.
She hit Travis with a shovel and stabbed him with a butcher knife - an act which
caused her great emotional distress. Travis had been a beloved pet and
family member for more than a decade at this point. Stabbing him was, she reported,
as painful as putting a knife in her own body.
Despite this intervention the attack did not stop.
Sandra called 911 and told the operator what was happening. Here's a
clip of the call. In the background of which Travis's demented screams can still be heard...
Following that distressing call police and an ambulance were dispatched to the
house. The paramedics arrived first but had to wait for police backup before
they could approach Travis ceased his attack as the first police car arrived
on scene. Blood-drenched but calm he approached the police cruiser and tried
to open the door, then smashed one of the wing mirrors. He then walked around to
the driver's side door and opened it, at which point the officer inside
discharged several rounds from his handgun into Travis at close range. It
is a mark of the terrifying strength and power of an average adult male
chimpanzee that Travis did not die immediately. Instead he returned to the
house, where he succumbed to his wounds in front of his cage.
Charla's wounds were very nearly fatal. They were so severe that the hospital
staff who treated her received counseling after doing so. She had lost
her hands, nose, eyes, lips, and mid-face bone structure, and received significant
brain tissue injuries. Doctors reattached her jaw but could not save her sight. She
was left with scar tissue that barely resembled a human face. The extreme
nature of her injuries made her a candidate for experimental face and
hand transplants. Charla bravely agreed to these procedures, which were initially
successful - although her transplanted hands had to be removed after she
developed an infection. While she will never make a full recovery she is able
to live with some degree of independence. In order to raise funds to pay for her
astronomical medical bills her family started a trust fund. Charla also
appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She routinely speaks about the responsible
ownership of exotic pets. Chimpanzees, she says, should not be kept by anyone.
Sandra Harold died a little more than a year after the incident, her health
likely affected by the massive pending lawsuit against her and the stress of a
terrible, violent attack against a close friend. She passed away after suffering a
aortic aneurysm, and was buried along with Travis's cremated remains. That leaves
only the mystery of why Travis did what he did. There may have been several
contributing factors. On the day of the attack, for example, Charla had a new
hairstyle and so may have been unrecognizable to the chimp.
Seeing a complete stranger with one of his favorite toys might have scared him
into lashing out. In addition to this Xanax was found in
his system during an autopsy. Before her death
Sandra confirmed that she had given the chimp Xanax laced tea early on the day
of the attack in an attempt to calm him down. The medication can, however,
occasionally cause paradoxical reactions in the short-term.
These include hallucinations, aggression, rage, and mania. While these things may
have been a factor in Travis's shocking attack there is also
the simple fact that he was a wild animal and always would be. However close
to being a human he seemed he was not one. No human could ever truly know or
understand him, and to treat a wild creature of such great strength and
power as a pet was always a risky thing to do.