A chimpanzee named Chita has been caught in a love scandal that he likely had no clue he was involved in. The chimp, who resides at a Belgian zoo called Antwerp Zoo, was just forbidden to connect with a woman who's been visiting.
While Chita has been at the zoo for roughly 30 years of his life, a woman named Adie Timmermans discovered him some years ago. In her mind, the connection was quite strong.
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"I love that animal and he loves me," Adie said to ATV, as translated by Newsweek. Chita, as expected, had no comment.
"I haven't got anything else," Adie said. "Why do they want to take that away?" She also mentioned that "we're having an affair, I'll just say." Supposedly, Adie went to visit Chita every week during the four years they've known each other.
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The attention toward Chita did reportedly make some of the other chimps jealous. "When Chita is constantly busy with visitors, the other monkeys ignore him and don't consider him part of the group, even though that is important," the zoo said, per People. "He then sits on his own outside of visiting hours."
So, what does having an affair with a chimpanzee look like? According to reports, the two often waved and blew kisses at each other across the glass. It's unclear how long Adie stayed during visits, but it must have been long enough for the other chimps to take notice.
"An animal that is too focused on people is less respected by its peers. We want Chita to be a chimpanzee as much as possible," the spokesperson for the zoo added. There's a reason why Chita interacts with humans so well. Before joining the zoo, he was reportedly someone's pet.
"Other dozens of visitors are allowed to make contact," Adie claimed. "Then why not me?" That said, it's likely most visitors see Chita in action and walk on by. The ban was reportedly placed to protect Chita's well-being, to make sure he wasn't ostracized by the other chimps he lives with.
According to the New York Post, it may already be too late. Based on Chita's upbringing, alongside the attention given to him by Adie, he may already be permanently ostracized from the other chimpanzees. At this point, it'd be interesting to see if Chita tries forming bonds with other humans who visit. But it's heartbreaking for Adie knowing she won't be able to see him anymore.
Oddly enough, the zoo seems to have fielded a lot of questions regarding people wanting to get closer to an animal. On the website, which has been translated, one of the questions is whether or not the animals can be caressed. The zoo clearly states that all animals who live there are separated from humans for a reason.
What happens when chimpanzees have been deemed unpopular by their group? They may be ostracized from group activities. Grooming is often something that bonds chimps, but if Chita focuses more on human interactions than chimp interactions, he could be left out.
Because Chita had been a pet before moving to live with other chimps, he was already at a disadvantage. Research has shown that while chimps can act a lot like kids and toddlers when they're young, everything changes when they reach sexual maturity. And by that point, they're often confused on how to act.
"Chimps don't become 'more human' simply because they're raised in a suburb in Texas instead of the mountains in Tanzania," explains How Stuff Works. "As very young animals, chimps are adorable, unique companions. Once they reach sexual maturity, though, their instincts gear them to dominate the humans they live with. By age 5, chimps are often stronger than human adults and very aggressive."
While it's a shame that Adie can't see Chita anymore, hopefully she knows that it's for his own health. Going to the zoo is a great activity for everyone, but forming intimate bonds with the animals might not be quite as beneficial. Maybe Adie can take her love of chimpanzees and use it for the best — perhaps she can do more research, or look for work that involves more animal interaction.
