Maybe that’s why it’s so haunting to watch the human beings depicted in the HBO docuseries “Chimp Crazy” as they carry on their relationships with captive chimpanzees. The chimps have names: Travis and Buck and Tonka. Accordingly, they’re trained by their owners—or . . . mothers? friends? how about enslavers?—to playact as family members. They sit at the table and eat food fit for people—there’s lots of McDonald’s in the show’s feeding scenes—and wear outfits for children in bright colors.
” The cop who showed up on the scene describes Travis approaching his car, shaking it, and then ripping off the door. But the animal didn’t immediately attack—instead, according to the officer, the chimp communicated with him telepathically. The officer doesn’t seem insane. “I swear this is true,” he says. “I didn’t hear it but it was, like, a connection. And he said to me: ‘Please do it . . . I can’t take it anymore.’ ” Do it, as in Kill me. Having wilded out, Travis opted for suicide by cop.