A woman was reportedly banned from a Belgian zoo after she claimed to have been having an “affair” with one of its chimpanzees.
Adie Timmermans had been visiting Chita, a 38-year-old chimpanzee at the Antwerp Zoo, each week for the past four years, during which she claims the two had forged a strong friendship, according to ATV.
Timmermans’ relationship with Chita reportedly consisted of the two waving and blowing kisses to each other through the glass. The problem, zoo officials say, is that their friendship has proved detrimental to Chita’s social status with the other chimpanzees.
“When Chita is constantly surrounded by visitors, the other monkeys ignore him and don’t consider him part of the group, even though it’s important for him,” a spokesperson for the zoo told ATV. “He then sits on his own outside of visiting hours.”
However, Timmermans thinks she’s being singled out. “We’re having an affair, I’ll just say. Other dozens of visitors are allowed to make contact. Then why not me?” she says.
The zoo explained that Chita might be too focused on Timmermans to bond with his peers.
“An animal that is too focused on people is less respected by its peers,” the zoo said. “We want Chita to be a chimpanzee as much as possible.”