Travis the Chimp nearly killed his owner's friend by tearing off her face and both hands, but his rampage was only cut short when he got shot.
The owner Sandra Herold watched as the ape mauled her friend close to death. Her friend Charla Nash got attacked by the animal though she wanted to stop him but feared what could happen.
Tamed Chimpanzee Attacks Owner, Friend
Travis had been brought up like a human; he played, wore nappies and clothes, and was featured in Pepsi commercials, reported the Sun UK.
About thirteen years ago, this incident became a warning that animals are still dangerous. The Chimp owner never imaged that anything like it could happen to anyone.
Seeing her friend mutilated in front of her caused shock as she called emergency services 911 for help. Telling the operator to send someone armed, as the Chimp would be very dangerous to stop without a firearm.
Herold stayed safe in her car while the scene unfolded, seeing her friend's face ripped off by the Travis and with both her hands as well, noted the Mirror UK.
It was worse as the 911 operator heard the background noise of the victim getting torn to shreds. The sound from the victim in pain from being attacked in her face and jaw pulled off, with her scalp and eyes clawed from their sockets.
Charla survives the horrific attack that left her faceless and lacking hands, caused by the Chimp's unencumbered rage, cited Ajansev.
The extent of the damage caused by Travis the Chimp includes crushed facial bones and leaving her disabled and without hands; it took several operations to fix her ravaged face.
An arriving cop came and shot the rampaging ape that fatally attacked. The incident would forever change the lives of the two women close to the tragic animal.
Travis the Chimp Adopted by Human Couple
Travis was adopted by Sandra and Jerome Herold when he was an infant, about three days old. Attempting to escape from the Missouri Chimpanzee Sanctuary, his mom was shot trying to get away.
She wanted to keep the orphaned Chimp as a pet but instead treated the animal as a human child. The animal learned to act like an average person, even drinking from wine glasses.
The ape got close to his rescuer and was with her most of the time. Even becoming a familiar sight in town as the Chimp was well behaved became a sight for all the town's residents.
Travis would be wearing clothes and tame enough for TV, where several commercials are to his credit.
He learned to drive as well, but at 14 years old, aggression was peaking in the animal. Sandra gave him Xanax earlier on February 16, 2009, but next was a terror as the ape went wild.
The medicine given made Travis go wild and run out of the house, so Sandra asked her friend, Charla, for assistance.
When the animal saw the 50-year-old, he lunged forward toward the woman out in the open and slammed her against the car, attacking her.
Overcoming the fear of Travis, Sandra got a shovel and hit him, but it did not stop him, so she got a knife and stabbed him. He looked at her unaffected and continued beating Charla.
She hid in her car and called the police; later, the policeman discharged his weapon several times, but Travis ran off and died in his room.
Travis the Chimp is a cautionary tale of keeping animals, though pets can be lethal given terrible circumstances.
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