Episode 178: ‘Chimp Crazy’ / Monkey Bites

Doctor Vs Comedian

Today the guys discuss the extremely popular HBO docuseries “Chimp Crazy (1:39). The guys discuss the background of the series and director Eric Good (Tiger King) developed the series. They then discuss how the series main subject, Tonia Haddix, got involved with keeping primates as pets in addition to discussing the involvement of actor Alan Cumming in the docuseries. Asif then asks Ali about an interview he did with journalist Sam Adams about the controversy behind the making of ‘Chimp Crazy’ and Eric Goode hiring a proxy director for the series.

Ali then asks Asif about monkey (primate) attacks and monkey bites (25:11). Asif goes over how the two main causes of primate attacks are primate ownership and over-habituation. With regards to pet ownership, Asif outlines a few major gruesome pet chimpanzee attacks in the US and in particular the attack by a chimp named Travis whose victim was featured on ‘Oprah’. Asif then discusses overhabituation which is caused often by monkeys’ desire for human food. He discusses the risks of monkey bites including the potentially fatal disease caused by the ‘B-virus’. Asif then concludes by discussing how to avoid monkey bites when on vacation in tropical areas.

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Music courtesy of Wataboi and 8er41 from Pixabay

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Show Notes:

• Is it ethical to watch the new docuseries Chimp Crazy? https://www.cbc.ca/arts/commotion/is-it-ethical-to-watch-the-new-docuseries-chimp-crazy-1.7301775
• The Grotesquerie of Chimp Crazy: https://slate.com/culture/2024/08/chimp-crazy-documentary-tonia-haddix-tonka-tiger-king-hbo-max.html
• She Faked Her Chimp’s Death. Then Things Went Apesh!t: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/tonia-haddix-peta-tonka-fake-monkey-death-1388070/
• ‘Chimp Crazy’ Star Tonia Haddix Would Change (Almost) Nothing: https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/chimp-crazy-tonia-haddix-tonka-interview-1235093696/
• Here’s what the Toronto IKEA monkey is up to, 10 years later: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/12/09/toronto-ikea-monkey-10-years-later-darwin/
• Behind The Scenes: The Monkey From 'Speed Racer' Was A Jerk: https://www.cracked.com/article_32977_behind-the-scenes-the-monkey-from-speed-racer-was-a-jerk.html
• The Double Dishonesty of Chimp Crazy: https://www.vulture.com/article/chimp-crazy-director-deception-tonia-haddix.html
• The Will to Live: https://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/chimp-attack-victim-charla-nash-shows-her-face
• A Primate Party Gone Horribly Awry: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-05-me-chimp5-story.html
• https://theconversation.com/why-monkeys-attack-people-a-primate-expert-explains-221547
• https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/5/hong-kongs-first-monkey-virus-case-what-do-we-know-about-the-b-virus
• Monkeys blamed for hundreds of puppy deaths captured in India: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/21/monkeys-blamed-for-hundreds-of-puppy-deaths-captured-in-india