Forget the monkey uncle, this woman wants to be his wife.
A woman who loves monkeys has been banned from visiting a male chimpanzee at a zoo in Antwerp, Belgium, after officials declared her relationship unhealthy due to the animal’s socialization with other chimpanzees.
“I love this animal and he loves me,” Adie Timmermans told the Belgian ATV channel of her ape soul mate, according to LadBible.
The longed-for woman had reportedly been visiting the male chimpanzee, named Chita, weekly for four years, in what she described as a real “relationship.”
During their visits, it appears, the two bar lovers crossed kisses and waved through the glass of the primate enclosure, though fortunately they did not participate in any kind of whoopie.
Still, Timmermans believes their attraction is mutual.
Unfortunately, the zoo has put the kibosh in its unorthodox love story, as it reportedly caused Chitah to be shunned by his apes.
“When Chita is constantly surrounded by visitors, the other animals ignore him and don’t consider him part of the group,” zoo curator Sarah Lafaut told the ATV who told the ATV of the primate pariah, which reports 15 hours (outside human visitation times). alone as a result of his exile.
Lafaut explained: “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. ”
Timmermans, for example, is devastated by her communication from the zoo. “I have nothing else,” protested the heartbroken friend. “Why do they want to take this away?”
He added that his exile was especially unfair, as other visitors to the zoo are allowed to visit his primate lover.
Unfortunately, the ban may ultimately prove futile: zoo officials do not think Chita will be able to reintegrate into chimpanzee society, as its exposure to humans began at an early age.
Originally a pet, the young chimpanzee was donated to the wildlife facility at an age when it became manageable and has spent 30 of the last 38 years in captivity, LadBible reported.
As a result, Chita is very kind to people to the detriment of her relationship with her own species. He was even seriously injured during a 2008 fight with other male chimpanzees.
In fact, researchers at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago have found that human-raised chimpanzees had difficulty integrating with other socially deficient chimpanzees that lasted decades after their release.