heroic chimps yearn for freedom

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Police: Chimp stole dart gun, lunged at police officer before he was shot
New details released on the fatal shooting of 17-year-old chimpanzee

By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, April 05, 2008

A chimpanzee that had escaped from a Bastrop research center in March snatched a tranquilizer gun from an animal attendant, leapt from a truck bed and threatened a police officer by flailing its arms before being shot several times, according to documents released Friday.

On March 12, Tony, a 140-pound, 17 1/2-year-old chimpanzee got out of the play area by jumping more than 15 feet from a jungle gym and grabbing the top of a corral wall. Tranquilizer darts failed to subdue him. A University of Texas police officer eventually shot and killed the animal.

According to a memo from UT police to executives at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which manages the Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, the officer who shot Tony watched the animal take a tranquilizer gun from an animal attendant who was trying to capture the animal according to university protocol.



http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/04/05/0405chimp.html?imw=Y