Adie Timmermans, a frequent visitor at the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, has been barred from interacting with her favorite chimp because she is interfering with the animal's ability to bond with his fellow primates. Timmermans said she has been visiting Chita, a 38-year-old chimpanzee, every week for four years.

"I love that animal, and he loves me," Timmermans told Belgian news channel ATV.

The Belgian woman said her relationship with the chimpanzee was like "having an affair." But she still believes that she should not be prohibited from visiting the animal, Yahoo reported.

"I haven't got anything else. Why do they want to take this away from me?" she said. "Other dozens of visitors are allowed to make contact with Chita, but why not me?"

Sarah Lafaut, a spokeswoman at Antwerp Zoo, said other animals ignore Chita when he is surrounded by visitors and don't consider him a part of the group. As he is shunned by the rest of the primates, Chita has been sitting in isolation after the zoo's opening hours.

"An animal that is too focused on humans is less respected by its peers," the zoo stated in a letter to Timmermans. "We want Chita to be a maximum chimpanzee. Outside of visiting hours at the Zoo, he has to manage 15 hours in his group. We want to give him the chance to be as happy as possible.”

According to Dutch newspaper De Gelderlander, Timmermans was initially asked to keep her distance and avoid eye contact. But she is now banned from the zoo, the newspaper reported.

Chita, who was once kept as a pet, was given to the zoo 30 years ago.

"Chita always comes to see me when he sees me," Timmermans said. "He waves his arms, gives kisses to the window. What am I doing wrong? Dozens of other subscribers are doing the exact same thing. There is less response. All in all, I have had four reminders to stop making contact.”

Adie Timmermans

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