💔 She visited the zoo every week for four years — and fell in love with a chimpanzee. But now, their bond has been broken. Adi Timmermans says Chita “loved her back,” but zookeepers say the connection was hurting him. The reason? His fellow chimps started rejecting him. See their emotional story in the article below 👇
A touching story recently unfolded at a zoo in Antwerp, involving a woman and a chimpanzee. We looked into how this unusual bond developed—and how it came to an unexpected end.
Adi Timmermans has been visiting the city’s zoo every week. Each time she came, she made sure to stop by and spend time with a 38-year-old chimpanzee named Chita. Over time, Chita grew very attached to Adi.
That’s no surprise—Adi has been visiting Chita regularly for four years. She even joked that their bond was like a romantic relationship, calling it a real connection.
However, the zoo staff began to worry about how close the two had become. Eventually, they decided to stop Adi from getting near Chita, which made her very upset. In an interview with a local TV station, Adi said that Chita means everything to her. She said she loves him, and believes he loves her back. She felt hurt that others can still visit the zoo freely, while she was told to keep her distance.
The zoo staff explained the reason behind their decision. Sarah Lafo, a zookeeper who works with mammals, said that when a chimp becomes too close to a human, it can hurt their relationships with other chimps. The others in the group started ignoring Chita and didn’t treat him as part of the group anymore. When visitors leave, Chita is left alone and barely interacts with the other chimpanzees. This harms his ability to live and socialize within his group. The staff also believe Chita may have been a pet in the past, which could explain why he’s so attached to people.
The zoo made it clear that Adi is still welcome to visit. But she is no longer allowed to stand near Chita or do anything that might get his attention. The goal is to help him move on from the bond and start connecting with his fellow chimpanzees again.
