Arthur Greene
A Belgian woman has been banned from seeing her beloved chimp because the zoo in Belgium where it lives says their relationship is making the chimp an “outcast” in his troop.
Adie Timmermans was “heartbroken” when she was told by Antwerp Zoo that she could no longer visit Chita, a 38-year-old chimpanzee.
The star-crossed lovers first began their relationship, which Timmermans described as like “having an affair,” four years ago, and Timmermans has visited her primate ‘lover’ every week since.
“I love that animal, and he loves me,” she tearfully told the Belgian news channel ATV.
She said their relationship was at first like a friendship, but the two became overtaken by passion and a sense of forbidden love. It was a “real relationship”, she said.
When she visited him, they would apparently blow each other kisses and press their lips and hands up to the glass enclosure.
But eventually, the zoo had to prize the two soul primates apart. Their relationship was deemed unhealthy for Chita’s socialisation with the other chimps.
Antwerp Zoo spokesperson Sarah Lafaut, who manages the zoo’s mammals, told the news channel that the relationship was having a toxic impact on Chita.
“When Chita is constantly surrounded by visitors, the other animals ignore him and don’t consider him part of the group,” she said.
“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, however, is heartbroken by the zoo’s decision to ban her.
“I haven’t got anything else. Why do they want to take this away from me?” she asked.
“Other dozens of visitors are allowed to make contact with Chita, but why not me?”
Image source: @HelpforBear
