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Pet Lemur Bites Two People

Incident Date:
02/05/2020
Location:
Shawano, WI - USA
Facility Name:
Private Residence
Facility Type:
Exotic Pet (E)
Incident Category:
Escape/Attack resulting in human injury (HI)
Species:
Primates
Animal:
Lemur
Animal disposition:
Other

Summary:

SHAWANO, WI — Diane Wilke was hired by Rita Mondus and her husband to paint a mural in their Shawano, Wisconsin home. While there, Wilke exclaimed, “It bit me!” on cell phone video that she shared with the I-Team. “Who bit you?” asks Rita Mondus, the lemur’s owner, on the video. “The lemur,” said Wilke in the video. Wilke thought she was taking a cute animal video of a lemur. Instead, she suffered permanent nerve damage and now lives with post traumatic stress disorder.

In another instance, knowing what happened to Wilke, the Mondus’ neighbor Peggy Otto called and spoke with John Mondus when she wanted to bring vegetables from her garden to their home. She tells the I-Team John Mondus told her she could safely leave the food on the porch. “So I went over there, got out of my car, walked to the porch, I turn around and this lemur came running at me,” she said. Otto said Ringo bit her hand, requiring stitches at the hospital.

Action take by Born Free USA:

Notes: