Custody fights aren't pretty, and Kansas City is in the middle of one -- over a chimpanzee. A municipal court trial on the matter of Sueko the chimp has been delayed for two weeks, and a man claiming to be the chimp's real owner came forward to reclaim his chimp and threatened to sue the city if she's not returned.
John Michael Oyer told the Star that Sueko is like family to him, and he'll file a lawsuit if he's
not given his chimp back.
"That's my baby," he told the paper. "She grew up in my house with all
my children. She's domesticated."
Last October, Sueko went on a mini-rampage
near 77th and Indiana, flipping off an animal-control officer and
karate kicking a police
car's windshield. 
Mark Archigo and Deborah Kaumans were charged with keeping
or
harboring a nonhuman primate within the limits of Kansas City. The city
confiscated Sueko after she got loose in October. The 21-year-old chimpanzee was later moved to
the Kansas City Zoo but won't meet the other chimps until her
legal issues are worked
The city has tried to
take away Sueko once before. In 1995, she was accused
of biting people and was sent to the zoo. But the city returned her
after Archigo threatened to sue. He promised to keep her outside the
city limits, which didn't happen last October.
Oyer later said Archigo gave up his ownership rights to
Sueko. The two had bought the chimp in 1989 when they started a
tree-trimming
service called Monkey Tree Service.
Fox 4 reported that Oyer claimed in court that Sueko wasn't dangerous and wouldn't have hurt anyone. The judge wasn't interested in hearing from Oyer. We'll be back at this again in two weeks. Until then, relive
Sueko's rampage below.
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