[14] He could open doors using keys, dress himself, water plants, feed hay to Sandra and Jerome's horses, eat at a table with the rest of the family, and drink wine from a stemmed glass.

"[19][20] On October 19, 2003, Travis escaped from Sandra's car and held up traffic at a busy intersection; he was on the loose for several hours.

[21][22] The incident began after a pedestrian threw an empty soda bottle at the car, which went through a partially open window and struck Travis while they were stopped at a red light.

[7][23] On February 16, 2009, at around 3:40 pm, Travis attacked and mauled Sandra's 55-year-old friend, Charla Nash, inflicting devastating injuries to her face and limbs.

[9] He was familiar with her, as she had also worked at Sandra and Jerome's towing company, although she had a different hairstyle and was driving a different car at the time of the attack, which may have confused and alarmed him.

Travis' screams can be heard in the background at the start of the tape as Sandra pleads for the police, who initially believed the call to be a hoax until she cried, "He's eating her!

When they arrived, Travis headed toward the police car, tried to open a locked passenger door, and smashed a side-view mirror.

He then walked to the driver's side door and opened it, at which point Officer Frank Chiafari shot him four times with his service pistol.

[33] Doctors removed some of Travis' hair and teeth that were embedded in her bones and reattached her jaw, but announced on April 7, 2009 that she would be blind for life due to both eyes becoming infected in the attack.

[31] Per standard procedure, Travis' head was taken to the state laboratory for a rabies test, and his body was taken to the University of Connecticut for a necropsy.

[41][42] Shortly after the attack, a woman who had lived in the same area as Sandra came forward with information that, in 1996, Travis had bitten her hand and tried to pull her into a vehicle as she greeted him.

Her attorney, Robert Golger, released the following statement: "Ms. Herold had suffered a series of heartbreaking losses over the last several years, beginning with the death of her first and only daughter who was killed in a car accident, then her husband, then her beloved chimp, Travis, as well as the tragic maiming of friend and employee Charla Nash.

"[49][50] On May 28, 2011,[51] Charla underwent transplant surgery performed by a team led by Bohdan Pomahač at Brigham and Women's Hospital, receiving a donated face and hands.

[60] The attack, reminiscent of another one that occurred four years earlier in California,[61] provoked discussion by sources such as Time magazine and primatologists Jane Goodall and Frans de Waal about the logic of keeping such exotic animals as pets.

[62][63][64] Reality television actress Kim Kardashian received criticism for posting photos of her family with a three-year-old chimpanzee on her blog only days after the attack.

"[68] Travis's escape and Charla's subsequent attack were used as part of the "Chimps" episode of Animal Planet's 2010–2011 documentary series Fatal Attractions.

In June 2009, American deathcore band Suicide Silence released their second album No Time to Bleed, featuring the track "...And Then She Bled", a song recreation of the 911 emergency phone call placed by Sandra during the attack.

In the film, a young girl mauled by him is shown years later to wear a mesh covering over her severely disfigured face similar to the one worn by Charla.

[71] A Connecticut DEP spokesperson clarified that Travis was exempt because he did not appear to present a public health risk and was owned before the registration requirement began.

[73] U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon introduced the Captive Primate Safety Act on January 6, 2009, which would have added chimpanzees, monkeys, great apes, gorillas, lemurs, and tarsiers to the list of "prohibited wildlife species" that can't be sold or purchased through interstate and foreign sales.

Rob Bishop argued against the bill during the floor debate, noting that it would cost $4 million annually and do nothing directly to prevent chimpanzee attacks on humans.

[77] On February 23, 2009, the House voted 323 to 95 in favor of the bill,[76] and the editorial boards of several major newspapers, including The New York Times and Newsday, supported its passage.

This led to legislation proposed in 2010 that would cover a police officer's compensation for mental or emotional impairment after using justifiable deadly force to kill an animal.