The long list of things I will never forget just got longer with the terrible tragedy of the pet chimpanzee in Connecticut that attacked his owner’s friend and was shot by the police.

I am not going to launch into a 500-word diatribe on why wild animals don’t make good pets. But as the owner of a rather timid dog, I kind of understand why people ignore the dangers of having a wild animal in the house.

But I see a role here for computer technology. Can some creative person come up with a software program that allows us to own virtual wild animals as pets?

There are a number of virtual pet sites on the Internet but they have mostly adorable animals like dogs, cats, and fish, along with slightly less adorable horses and snakes.

And the animals do very predictable things like fetch and scratch. But they don’t offer the kind of engaging unpredictability of an animal with an IQ as high as an ape's or the destructive power of a tiger.

As I understand it, wild animals, even those born in captivity, never forget the 24x7 survival calculus that frames their existence. Like us they are capable of unspeakable acts when faced with life-threatening danger or what they perceive as danger.

Perhaps someone can encapsulate that combination of friendliness, unpredictability, anger, and cruelty in an application and market it.

I don’t mean a virtual caricature of a chimpanzee that shrieks when you take his toy away. I mean one that is programmed to someday tear the face off of your neighbor – virtually of course.

Perhaps that will satisfy the urge in some of us to engage wild animals in close and unprotected quarters. Or perhaps not.