Fought for her rights as a victim

Instead of hiding, Charla also used her voice. She bravely appeared on shows like Oprah and The Today Show, not for fame, but to warn others. She became a vocal advocate for stricter exotic animal laws, hoping no one else would suffer as she had.

”I’d like to put across to people’s minds that these exotic animals are very dangerous and they shouldn’t be around,” she told Oprah.

Charla also received support from numerous organizations and wildlife experts who rallied behind her in the aftermath of the attack.

”They are wild animals, and all wild animals are potentially dangerous,” says Colleen McCann, a primatologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and New York’s Bronx Zoo. “They are not pets. This is tragic, but it’s not surprising.”

Charla fought for her rights as a victim. She tried to sue the state of Connecticut for $150 million, arguing the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection failed to act on prior warnings about the chimp.