What Is the Story of Travis the Chimp, and What Happened to Charla Nash?

In the early 2000s, Travis the Chimp was a national celebrity in the U.S. Sadly, Travis became a cautionary tale against the domestication of primates after a horrifying incident involving Charla Nash.

Travis was born in 1995 to Suzy and Coco, two domesticated chimpanzees imported in the 1970s. Travis was separated from his birth mother when he was only three days old, and he became the pet of Jerome and Sandra Herold, who named the chimp after singer Travis Tritt. The Herolds raised Travis as their son, socializing the chimp with other humans from an early age.

According to reporting from The Stamford Advocate, the Herolds owned a towing company in Stamford, Connecticut. The couple frequently took Travis to work with them, riding shotguns in their towing trucks. Because of that, Travis became a local celebrity, greeting cops wherever he went. In the 2000s, Travis also starred in several TV commercials, cementing his image as a national icon.

Before his passing, Travis was reportedly capable of watering plants, using a remote to watch TV, and even using jets to open doors. He was also obese for a primate, due to an unhealthy diet that included wine and ice cream, per a report from The Hour. The Herolds saw Travis as a human child, failing to care for his special needs. Eventually, Travis would be at the center of a brutal attack that shocked the nation. 

Why did Travis the Chimp attack Charla Nash?

Jerome Herold passed away in 2004, leading Sandra to grow even closer to Travis. On February 16, 2009, Sandra asked for the help of a family friend and former employee, Nash, to retrieve Travis after the chimp ran away from home. To lure the animal, Nash tried to use Travis’ favorite toy, an Elmo plushie. Unfortunately, Travis had a burst of rage and attacked Nash, almost killing her. 

To protect the woman, Sandra tried to use a shovel to beat Travis down, and when that failed, she stabbed the chimp. The betrayal by the hands of his motherly figure only aggravated Travis’ fury. Sandra locked herself in her car, believing Nash to be dead, and called the police. The phone record registers Sandra’s despair as she describes how Travis was feeding from the corpse of Nash.

When the police arrived at the scene, Travis attacked their car, leading Officer Frank Chiafari to shoot the chimp four times. Travis retreated inside his home, only to die right beside his cage.

After the incident, the police began an investigation to determine the cause of Travis’ attack. There were no signs of the rage virus in the chimp’s system, but the primate was under the influence of Xanax. Sandra revealed she had been administrating the dangerous drug and other medication for Lyme disease. In addition, while Travis knew Nash, she had changed her hairstyle and car before the attack, which might have led the chimp to mistake her for a stranger trying to steal his toy. Whatever the reason for the attack, Travis’ tragic story would change how the U.S. deals with exotic pets.

What happened to Charla Nash?

Charla Nash lost nine fingers, her nose, both eyes, lips, and part of her cheekbone when Travis attacked her. Besides being severely mauled, Nash also sustained brain damage and ultimately lost her sight. She had to undergo invasive surgical procedures over the eyes, including a full face transplant. Nevertheless, Nash would never fully recover from her injuries.

Nash sued the Herolds for keeping a dangerous animal in a lengthy legal battle that only ended in 2012. The lawsuit ended with a settlement in which Nash would receive $4 million. Since then, Nash has stepped away from the spotlights and has been trying to lead a normal life.

Travis’ attack had significant legal repercussions in the U.S., as a bill was created to stop the commerce of wild animals in the country. Sadly, the bill was never taken up by the U.S. Senate, which means it hasn’t become law yet. After the attack, Nash also appeared in several TV programs to share her story and speak against the domestication of exotic animals. The attack on Nash would also inspire filmmaker Jordan Peele to create the spine-chilling chimp scene in Nope.