The XX Factor: What women really think.

Chimps and Chumps

Enough about dogs, presidential and otherwise. How about this disturbing story from today's Times about domesticated monkeys? It's pegged to the sad tale of Sandra Herold, whose pet chimpanzee, Travis, viciously mauled her friend last week. If you're unconvinced about the idiocy of keeping a wild animal as a pet, check out this passage about the proud owners of Higgins the baboon:

When Higgins was 3, he slept with the couple, often awakening Bob in the morning by climbing to the bedroom rafters and dropping onto Bob’s stomach. On one occasion, they got in a wrestling match, and Higgins put one of his “steel-like fingernails” through Bob’s scrotum.