A violent pet monkey went on a rampage over the weekend, attacking a woman and ripping her ear “in half.”
The attack, which left the Oklahoma resident with non-life-threatening injuries but in need of plastic surgery, happened just after 6 p.m. Sunday, when police got reports of a monkey on someone’s front porch.
The Dickson Police Department, located in Ardmore, Okla., responded and called in backup from the Oklahoma Wildlife Department. When officers got out of the car, the monkey jumped on the back of the police vehicle and then pivoted, running toward the woman and climbing up her back, where it started ripping at her head.
The victim, Brittany Parker, told NBC affiliate KTEN that the primate “ran up my back and jumped onto my head, pulled hair out, and then ripped my ear in half like you would a piece of paper.”
Parker told CBS affiliate KXII that she was inside the house when she noticed the animal on her front porch. She Facetimed her family to show them the monkey.
“He was pacing back and then he was jumping off of my railing and hitting my storm door,” she said, adding that it was when the animal ripped off part of the door’s handle that she got nervous and called 911.
A separate video, filmed by one of Parker’s neighbours, Randal Flinn, shows the same monkey threatening a dog before throwing itself violently against a storm door as Flinn tried to leave the house to intervene.
Police said after the monkey attacked Parker, it took off, with police in pursuit. As they searched, they heard a pair of gunshots ring out; one of Parker’s family members shot and killed the animal after it tried to attack them, too.
The monkey was reportedly owned by one of Parker’s neighbours, according to KOKH. The outlet reports that the monkey’s name was Jack.
Oklahoma has no regulations prohibiting the keeping of monkeys as pets, as they are considered domesticated animals despite being exotic and non-native. Owning a monkey does not require a permit in the state.
Parker, who was treated in hospital and will require plastic surgery on her ear, told KXII that she would support legislation making it harder for people to own potentially dangerous animals as pets.
“I think that 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 type of animals,” she said.
The monkey’s body is being analyzed at Oklahoma Disease Laboratory for testing, according to Dickson police, who said the investigation is ongoing.
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