Monday, March 7,
2005 Posted: 2:27 PM EST (1927 GMT)
BAKERSFIELD, California (AP) -- A couple's
plans for a birthday party for their former pet
chimpanzee turned tragic when two other chimps
at an animal sanctuary escaped from their cage
and attacked. The man was critically injured
with massive wounds to his face, body and limbs,
and the attacking animals were shot dead.
St. James and
LaDonna Davis were at the Animal Haven Ranch in
Caliente to celebrate the birthday of Moe, a
39-year-old chimpanzee who was taken from their
suburban Los Angeles home in 1999 after biting
off part of a woman's finger. |
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Moe was not involved in
Thursday's attack, said Steve
Martarano, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and
Game.
The couple had brought Moe a cake
and were standing outside his cage when Buddy and Ollie, two of
four chimpanzees in the adjoining cage, attacked St.
James Davis, Martarano said.
Officials have not determined how the chimps got out of their
enclosure, he said.
LaDonna Davis, 64, suffered a
bite wound to the hand while trying to help her 62-year-old
husband, Martarano said.
The son-in-law of the sanctuary's
owner killed the attacking animals, Martarano said.
"He saw what was happening and
had one kind of weapon with him and then got another he felt
would be more substantial and shot them," Martarano said. "He
pretty much saved a life."
St. James Davis had severe facial
injuries and would require extensive surgery in an attempt to
reattach his nose, Dr. Maureen Martin of Kern Medical Center
told KGET-TV of Bakersfield. His testicles and a foot also were
severed, Kern County Sheriff's Cmdr. Hal
Chealander told The Bakersfield Californian.
Davis was transported to Loma
Linda University Medical Center, where he was undergoing surgery
late Thursday, Martarano said.
Buddy, a 16-year-old male chimp,
initiated the attack and after he was shot, Ollie, a 13-year-old
male, grabbed the gravely injured man and dragged him down the
road, authorities said.
"Everybody was trying to get the
chimp off," Chealander said.
Two other chimps, females named
Susie and Bones, also escaped from
the cage they shared with Ollie and Buddy, prompting sheriff's
deputies, animal control workers, and Fish and Game officials to
launch a search.
The wayward pair were recovered
by Animal Haven owner Virginia Brauer after five hours.
Martarano said one chimp was two miles from the sanctuary,
located 25 miles southeast of Bakersfield.
The Davises had waged an
unsuccessful legal fight to bring Moe back to their West Covina
home and visited him regularly at the sanctuary where he had
been living since October. They brought the chimp from Africa
decades ago after a poacher killed his mother.
Animal
Haven
Ranch has held state permits to shelter animals since 1985 and
serves as a sanctuary for animals that have been confiscated or
discovered lost, Martarano said.
It is allowed to house up to nine
primates at one time and is home to one spider monkey and six
chimpanzees, he said. The permits are held by Virginia and Ralph
Brauer, whom neighbors described as responsible animal lovers.
"She's devoted her whole life to
taking care of these chimpanzees," said Jeanne Miller, a family
friend. |