A pet monkey was shot dead after attacking a woman in her Oklahoma neighborhood, ripping her hair out and biting her ear off in the vicious assault.
The woman, Brittany Parker, was enjoying a quiet afternoon at home in Dickson, Oklahoma, when she spotted a bizarre sight – her neighbor’s pet monkey was standing on her porch. To make the situation even stranger, the animal was not only enraged but appeared to be attempting to get inside the house.
Fearing for her safety, Parker contacted the police to report the incident, the monkey ripping her door apart as she fought to keep it outside. To Parker’s relief, police immediately set out for the home to help her. As she waited, the monkey seemed to calm itself, so she risked a step onto the porch to greet the approaching officers.
The moment she left her home, however, the pet monkey’s disposition shifted once again, the animal leaping toward her in an attack. “[The monkey] jumped up on my back and landed on my head,” Parker told local news channel KOKH. “He started grabbing handfuls of hair and just ripped it out. He ripped my ear almost completely off of my head.”
Before anyone could react, the attack ceased, the monkey running away from Parker’s home as she bled. As the monkey fled, however, it was shot dead by one of her family members.
“As we were looking for the primate, two shots were fired,” explained Dickson police chief Tim Duncan. “The shots came from the area of the victim’s residence. Officers went back to the house and found that a family member of the victim shot and killed the primate.”
Multiple Neighbors Harassed by Vicious Pet Monkey
First responders rushed Parker to a nearby trauma center where she received treatment for her injuries. Hospital staff also administered a rabies shot and recommended plastic surgery for her mangled ear.
According to neighbors familiar with the pet monkey, his name was Jack. One neighbor experienced a similar incident with the monkey, uploading the encounter to TikTok. This neighbor first fed the monkey an orange. He soon came to second guess his decision, however, after it launched itself at his front door.
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The owner of the monkey did not face any charges for having the unusual pet. Pet monkeys are not only legal in Oklahoma but don’t require a permit to keep as they’re considered “domesticated animals.” Other wildlife that falls under this classification in OK include zebras, kangaroos, and camels.
Still, Parker remains understandably concerned for the safety of humans when a pet monkey is involved. “I think there needs to be some type of law that says that you need to have some kind of training as well as a certificate to even hold these types of animals,” she said.
“My son loves to play outside,” Parker explained. “Do I let my child go outside and play? Do I worry every time we step outside if we are going to be attacked by something? It is very traumatizing. It is very scary.”