“Chimp-loving woman banned from zoo“
A WOMAN has been banned from visiting her beloved chimp because the zoo says their ‘relationship’ is making him an outcast among other chimps.
Adie Timmermans is heartbroken after a zoo in Antwerp, Belgium, stopped her from visiting a 38-year-old chimpanzee called Chita.
Ms Timmermans has been visiting Chita on a weekly basis for four years. She says they struck up a friendship at first, but it soon developed into a real “relationship”. During their visits, they would blow kisses to each other and wave through the glass.
Broken-hearted, she said: “I love that animal and he loves me. I haven’t got anything else. Why do they want to take that away?
“Other dozens of visitors are allowed to make contact. Then why not me?”
A zoo spokesperson said that the other chimps in Chita’s enclosure exclude him because he has a lot of contact with humans.
So, when visiting hours are not open, he must spend 15 hours alone as a result of his banishment.
Zoo curator Sarah Lafaut said: “We want Chita to be a chimpanzee as much as possible.”
คำศัพท์
chimpanzee, chimp = ชิมแปนซี
ban = แบน
beloved = ที่รัก
relationship = ความสัมพันธ์
outcast = คนที่ถูกขับไล่
heartbroken = อกหัก
enclosure = กรงขัง
