Frodo, the scary chimpanzee who ate a woman after taking her to her mother

Twenty years ago, an adult chimpanzee took a baby from its mother and killed him while they were walking in a national park.

The girl’s partially swallowed corpse was discovered in a tree, prompting a widespread call for the chimpanzee, Frodo, to be brought down.

From a young age, Frodo was big and aggressive. Born on June 30, 1976 in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, she is part of the Gombe chimpanzee community made famous by British anthropologist and primatologist Dame Jane Goodall.

Dr. named him. Goodall after Frodo, according to the character from The Lord of the Rings. because at that time he read the books to his son.

His mother, Fifi, was one of the dominant matriarchs in Gombe and gave birth to nine chimpanzees, including Frodo. Even when he was young he already showed signs of mischief and chaos, holding Dr.’s notebooks and glasses. Goodall when he tried to study him and his mother.

Goodall described Frodo in a BBC interview as a “real bully”. As it grows, it grows, weighing up to 50 kilograms, making it one of the heaviest chimpanzees in the community.

He is a skilled stone -thrower and throws stones at people with alarming accuracy and charges tourists, beating and knocking them down. Frodo also learned to roll rocks down hills at his enemies, as his behavior became more violent.

horror attack

On May 15, 2002, Rukia Sadiki She walks in Gombe National Park with her 16 -year -old niece and her little daughter Miasa.

They have traveled several times on the public road from their village to Lake Tanganyika, and Rukia has known Frodo all her life., because she married one of the caretakers in the park. However, on that day, the guests followed.

Frodo suddenly jumped from the trees and carried 14 -month -old baby Miasa, before disappearing into the forest.

Speaking to BBC Horizon in 2004, Rukia said: “I was shocked by the sudden attack. The chimpanzee started to open the cloth where it tied my baby behind it and then ran away with my daughter.”

After a frightening search, park rangers found Frodo sitting in a tree. When the guards approached, the chimpanzee, now large, ran away, leaving a ghastly find.

The baby was beaten to death and partially eaten before leaving the badly mutilated corpse. Miasa’s murder shocked the world and prompted calls for Frodo – who was called a “monkey demon” by journalists – to be overthrown.

On the same program, Dame Goodall told the BBC: “Frodo killed a baby man, something we predicted would happen a long time ago.” He added: “Chimpanzees are hunters and although in Gombe their favorite prey are baby monkeys, humans are another type of primate. “

At the time, Gombe National Park chimpanzee research director Shadrack Kamenya said: “Frodo’s behavior in this incident seems to be part of the chimpanzee’s natural hunting habits, they seem to see babies that humans. as they view the young of other species such as the colobus monkey and baboon: as potential prey. “

The death of Frodo

Seven months after the death of the little 14 -month -old baby, a mysterious illness passed through Gombe’s camp and Frodo became seriously ill.

“I was shocked when I saw Frodo enter the research camp in January 2003,” said conservation biologist Lilian Pintea. “At first I didn’t know him because he was ugly. His hip bones are clearly visible. “

Frodo has become less sociable, but keeps looking at approaching people and the other chimpanzees avoid him. “As he lost weight, he began to withdraw – and even hide – from the group,” said researcher Anne Pusey. “When it hurts, he lies on the ground with his knees raised to his chest, panting silently.”

He was treated with antibiotics and eventually recovered, but never regained his alpha male status.

On Sunday, November 10, 2013, Frodo died at the age of 37 from an infected groin wound caused by a dog.

Source: The Sun.