Illinois Woman Raises Five Monkeys Like Children

Illinois mom Connie Tibbs is raising five macaque monkeys alongside her human children. INSIDE EDITION has the story.

Connie Tibbs loves her monkeys! She's raising five monkeys, Dexter, Jada, Jackson, Ally, and Audrey, and treats them just as if they're her kids.

The monkeys have free reign of the house. They run all over the dining room, up and down the stairs, and they wear custom-made diapers so their tails can stick out!

The monkeys cling to Connie like babies clinging to their mother. When she tries to put them into a cage, they let out ear-piercing screams.

The exotic macaques are part of the family in every human way imaginable. They drink from straws and they're very mischievous.  

"I just get used to them, and I think they're just like a dog or a cat," said Connie's daughter Victoria.

The monkeys even groom family members, as if they too were monkeys!

Connie takes them out on shopping excursions, and they're all over her as she drives her car, and they hang out as she shops.

"They just love coming to the store!" Connie said.

Once a week she bathes them, she brushes their teeth, and sometimes one lucky monkey even gets to sleep in Connie and her husband Steve's bed.

The monkeys play with their human siblings, but while we were there, our cameras caught some disturbing behavior.

One monkey turned on 13-year-old Victoria, and another went after her best friend Bailey. Bailey ran away screaming!

And while the family was taking a swim in the pool, one monkey took a nip at Steve.

We even spotted one little guy grasping a steak knife and using it as a toothpick.

But Connie insists her monkeys are not dangerous. She says they're still young, so their teeth are not fully-grown or sharp enough to cause serious injury.  

She actually spanks them when they get out of control and she vowed that even when they get older and more aggressive she has no plans to ever part with them.

"I will keep them till they all die. I will not get rid of them," she said.