Kansas City Neighborhood Goes Ape

On October 19, a 21 year old, 300 pound female chimpanzee named Sueko escaped from the truck she was left in by her owner, and terrorized a Kansas City neighborhood.
This lady chimp who apparently lacks in manners, broke a police car windshield, laughed at people and even gave the bird to a policeman.  This was not her first brush with the law, but this may be her last.
After being tranquilized she was brought to Monkey Island, where the director, Randy Wisthoff, said he  hopes to turn her back into an ape again.

Should we blame the chimp for causing havoc and wanting to paint the town red while she's enjoying a moment of freedom?  Absolutely not. Her owner is to blame.  Not only is he endangering the life of humans, but also that of the very creature he adopted and loves.  However hard this may be, the best thing for Sueko would be to live in a sanctuary, where her owner can visit regularly.

As most people should know, the law prohibits individuals in the United States from owning apes and monkeys as pets.  There are very good reasons for this.  Chimpanzees do not make good pets.  Oh, but they're so cute and funny!  True, they are, but once they reach the age of 6 or 7 years old, chimpanzees are already much stronger than a grown man.  As highly evolved beings, chimpanzees also have a mind of their own; they are highly emotional and do not take orders very well.  It is unfair to expect a chimpanzee to behave like a human being.  The rules in place in chimpanzee society are very different from those that apply in ours.


For more details on this story, you can view a video at newsy.com and read Zoo's Goal: Return Sue to being a Chimp from kmbc.com

Primate Drawing Contest - The Best Drawings

Thank you to all who submitted their drawings to celebrate primates.
All the drawings submitted are absolutely fabulous!
All these drawings are winners and I had to go back and modify a little the list of prizes in order to accommodate all them.
I really love the fact that all these monkeys look really happy and smile...

Most detailed and true to life drawing prizes go to:  
Hailey, Elana, Cynthia, Loris and Celio.

Hailey's drawing depicts three of the four great apes:  chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan.  The fourth great ape missing from this drawing is the bonobo.  I love the expression on the face of each of these great apes.  Great work Hailey!

Cynthia's drawing is just exploding with colors and the monkey in the center looks like a very happy individual.  He lives in a very green and sunny environment and his eyes are just beaming.  Beautiful work, Cynthia!

Elana's drawing is also very colorful.  Her monkey is happy and seems to enjoy the large sun over his head. Very nice drawing indeed, Elana!

Loris's monkey lives in an exotic place with very nice palm trees and a very hot sun!  He seems to be enjoying hanging from a branch - a very athletic monkey.  Very nice work, Loris!

Celio's monkey is also hanging from a branch (or is it from the laundry line in the garden?)  He has a big smile on his face and lives in a very interesting place where trees are multicolor.  This is a really cool drawing, Celio!


Most original interpretation monkey drawing prizes go to: 
Sydneeanne, Evan Maori, Olivia

I love this large monkey face that takes the whole page.  This monkey looks a little surprised and the sun has a beautiful smile.  Very nice drawing Sydneeanne!

That's a very interesting monkey!  I love the hair on his head and his goofy way of walking.  Very creative monkey and interesting green background.  Very cool drawing, Evan Maori!

This free form monkey drawing is so cute!  The monkey has a big smile and big ears!  Very nice work Olivia!