• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Woman recalls the moment she watched herself being ‘eaten alive’ by chimpanzee

Home> News> Animals

Published 13:09 20 Jun 2024 GMT+1

Woman recalls the moment she watched herself being ‘eaten alive’ by chimpanzee

Angelique Todd was ‘eaten alive’ by a chimpanzee in 1994

Callum Jones

Callum Jones

Warning: This article contains content some readers may find distressing

A woman recalled the horrifying moment she was being 'eaten alive' by a chimpanzee following an unprovoked and brutal attack.

Angelique Todd was working as a volunteer zoo keeper in Port Lympne Zoo Park near Folkestone, UK back in 1994.

During her time working as a volunteer, Todd struck up 'quite a good' relationship with a 33-year-old male chimp named Bustah.

Advert

But that relationship certainly took an unexpected turn when one day, Bustah grabbed Todd's coat and pulled her arm into the cage while she was feeding the three chimps.

Speaking to Our World back in 2004, Todd said: "Male chimpanzees in captivity in general, you have to be careful with them, they are one of the most dangerous animals in the zoo. They can be very aggressive, very feisty so you always are cautious."

A woman spoke of her harrowing ordeal when she was attacked by a chimpanzee. (Getty Stock Photo)
A woman spoke of her harrowing ordeal when she was attacked by a chimpanzee. (Getty Stock Photo)

While they may have garnered a good relationship, Bustah was apparently in a 'dangerous' mood the day he attacked the zookeeper.

Advert

"He saw his opportunity and he took it... these kinds of events, you go in slow motion, you're in shock, you're trying to survive," Todd added.

As the chimpanzee grabbed the zookeeper's coat, Todd thought she could just take her coat off and she'd be fine.

But as she tried to pull her arm back, the zookeeper realized the strength of the animal was just too strong for her.

"I couldn't provide any resistance, he was just so strong. It was pure survival," she said adding that she was basically 'watching [herself] being eaten alive'.

Advert

The chimpanzee bit off Todd's thumb and index finger and severed her arteries, which caused her to lose a 'huge amount of muscle mass'.

"I still have tooth wounds on either side of my arm but this is much, much improved," she added.

 Angelique Todd watched as the chimp 'ate her alive'. (Our World via YouTube)
Angelique Todd watched as the chimp 'ate her alive'. (Our World via YouTube)

Despite her horrific injuries, Todd does not hold any bad will towards the animal, saying that she believes Bustah got 'over-excited' to see her.

Advert

She continued: "I think what he wanted to do was just get hold of me. I think initially, it was just 'I can get hold of her, I can see a hole, there's a way that I can grab her' and that's what his initial reaction was.

"After he bit my thumb off, obviously the blood started spurting out, then it became kind of like a feeding frenzy."

Despite her bad experience with animals, Todd ended up pursuing a career as a biologist and researcher.

She studied to become a biologist and swapped Kent for the African jungle to become a researcher for the World Wide Fund For Nature.

Advert

She then spent the next decade living and ‘learning to speak’ the language of gorillas, adopting the moniker 'The Gorilla Whisperer' and featuring in the nature documentary My Gorilla Family.

Featured Image Credit: Our World via YouTube/Xia yuan/Getty

Topics: Animals, News

Callum Jones
Callum Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

6 hours ago
9 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • 6 hours ago

    Amazon Prime series with near-perfect RT score is labeled 'one of the best' by Stephen King

    The series starring Titus Welliver has been branded 'one of the most underrated TV shows'

    Film & TV
  • 9 hours ago

    People horrified after hearing tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s ‘sociopathic’ response about the future of humanity

    People have been creeped out by how he answered a simple question

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    Doctor issues warning over hidden symptoms of Lyme disease as tick bites near record highs in US states

    Parts of the US have seen a sudden uptick in tick bites

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    ‘World’s top couple’s therapist’ reveals the one surprising behavior in people’s relationships that ‘scares her’

    The psychologist said this one thing in other couples doesn't seem real

    News
  • Heartbreaking final call of woman as she’s eaten alive by bear and three cubs
  • Chilling final words of 'Grizzly Man' moments before he and girlfriend were eaten alive by bear
  • Woman dies after allegedly being set on fire by man on subway as he watched her burn alive
  • Horrific moment dad admitted his son was getting eaten by rats as he slept