Alarmingly, many of the hits I get from Google are from people looking for chimps as pets.
Yes, chimps are extremely cute.
Yes, they look and act a LOT like us.
Yes, babies of any species are always cute.
But chimpanzees are wild animals, and belong in the wild. Baby chimpanzees may be "manageable" but adult chimpanzees are big, aggressive, and potentially very, very dangerous.
Can chimpanzees rip your face off? Yes! Your balls? Yes!
It's why I caution anyone who asks me about having chimpanzees or monkeys as pets :
THEY ARE VERY DANGEROUS.
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| Charla Nash, whose face was ripped off by a "pet" chimpanzee |
Even moreso, chimpanzees are so close to use genetically that they can transmit diseases TO us. One of the strains of HIV came from chimpanzees. EBOLA is linked to chimpanzee field dressing.
Chimpanzees are also endangered, which means that there are very few of them left in the world.
In countries like DRC they are hunted, eaten, and the babies are sold as pets. By buying chimpanzees as pets, you are unwittingly contributing to this very illegal trade.
So please, if you're interested in having a pet, please visit your local shelter and find a dog or a cat who needs a home badly!
And if you need something exotic to make your life more interesting, take up Aerial Silks. Not only will all your friends be envious and want to see you perform all the time, but it involves a lot less poop in your bed.
Any chimpanzees on this blog are orphans, pulled from the wild by hunters, and legally confiscated for proper treatment and care in an authorized chimpanzee sanctuary.
For more information about chimpanzee sanctuaries in Africa and what you can do to help, please visit the Pan African Sanctuaries Alliance (PASA).
