Chimpanzee Owner Advises Oregon Police To Take ‘Head Shot’ After Ape Attacks Daughter

A chimpanzee owner in Oregon advised cops to fatally shoot the animal after the ape attacked her daughter over the weekend.

On Wednesday, the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office revealed there was an incident on Sunday morning at the Pendleton home of Tamara Brogoitti, who owned the chimpanzee for 17 years.

Brogoitti, 68, contacted police after the ape, Buck, escaped from its cage and attacked her daughter. Brogoitti told police the chimpanzee had bitten her daughter on the legs, torso, and arms.

While speaking with the dispatcher, Brogoitti revealed she and her 50-year-old daughter were hiding from the chimpanzee and advised officers to shoot the animal once they arrived.

“I’ve locked myself in the basement with her,” Brogoitti told the operator. “I can’t get out to get my own gun. You’re going to have to do a headshot.”

When Brogoitti was informed that help was on the way, she warned the dispatcher to make sure enough officers were sent to deal with the animal.

“Send more than one because ... if the ape gets the drop on him, he’s gone, too,” she explained. “I’ve never seen anything like this. He’s got to be put down. We’re both locked in the basement, and they have to do a headshot on the ape.”

Officers arrived to find Buck roaming around a fenced-in area and fatally shot the chimpanzee once in the head.

While Brogoitti has refused to comment on the incident to local reporters, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) slammed the woman for refusing to allow Buck to live in a nature reserve equipped to meet his needs as a wild animal.

“PETA warned state authorities that Tamara Brogoitti had created a ticking time bomb by engaging in direct contact with a dangerous ape, and now, he is dead and a woman has been mauled because of Brogoitti’s refusal to follow experts’ advice and transfer Buck to an accredited sanctuary,” an attorney for PETA said in a statement.

Brogoitti’s daughter was taken to a local hospital after the incident and treated for her wounds.