NEWS: Chimpanzees Maul Man in California, page 1

posted on Mar, 4 2005 @ 04:38 PM

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A California man has been severely mauled by two chimpanzees that had escaped from thier cages at an animal sanctuary. St. James Davis, 62, and his wife were visiting another chimpanzee that they used to own when the attack occurred. Davis's nose was chewed off and his genitals and limbs were severely mauled. The attack stopped when the chimpanzees were shot.

story.news.yahoo.com
HAVILAH, Calif. - Investigators said Friday they are trying to figure out how two chimpanzees that viciously attacked a visitor at an animal sanctuary escaped from their cages.

The chimps chewed off St. James Davis' nose and severely mauled his genitals and limbs Thursday before the son-in-law of the sanctuary's owner shot the animals to death, authorities said.

Davis, 62, and his wife had gone to there to visit another chimpanzee that had lived with them for decades before they were forced to give the animal up. LaDonna Davis, 64, was bit in the hand.

"A big part of the investigation will be figuring out whether the (sanctuary) owners were in compliance with regulations," sheriff's Cmdr. Hal Chealander said. "There's a reason why those chimpanzees got out. It will be crucial to our investigation how they got out."

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Kind of sad they were there for the birthday of a pet that they used to own and had given up to the sanctuary. I'll never forget what a friend of mine who used to research apes told me once. "People are always afraid of gorillas because of thier size, but chimps are the worse of the lot and quite vicious:. Seems to hold true in this case.

[edit on 3/4/05 by FredT]

Geneticus

posted on Mar, 4 2005 @ 04:44 PM

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No bananas for these cuddly creatures...they seem to prefer nuts...

WyrdeOne

posted on Mar, 4 2005 @ 04:45 PM

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I'd much rather fight a gorilla than two chimps..one chimp isn't quite so bad. They're pack hunters, like hyenas, and they aim to cripple, gorillas are much more amicable.

They fight dirty! They apparently chewed off most of the man's face and ate his testicles.

He lost a foot too. Damn! Those chimps don't mess around.

He brought a cake for the birthday party of a chimp named Moe, that the old man used to take care of. I guess the other two chimps took some offense to this...

There is still no information on why the cages were opened. Moe apparently remained in his cage during the attack, probably enjoying his birthday cake and watching the show...

Umbrax

posted on Mar, 4 2005 @ 04:49 PM

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I've seen a special on TV about wild chimps. On the special it showed them hunting small monkeys, and it was intense. People usually look at chimps as little comedic animals, not as efficient meat eating hunters.
It is very odd that they would attack a human though. In the same special there was 2 men that were with the chimps the whole time, even during the hunt. The chimps treated the men as if they were their own kind. I'd be interested to find out if there was some abuse related to the attack.

outsider

posted on Mar, 4 2005 @ 04:52 PM

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Ouch! That man is going to hurt for awhile. Though the guy probably didn't deserve the attack, what do you expect when you lock up creatures in a cage.

djohnsto77

posted on Mar, 4 2005 @ 04:52 PM

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Adult chimps are very strong and can be very violent. I saw the show Umbrax saw or a similar one. I also saw a show that documented a zoo keeper who was attacked through a cage while feeding a chimp who had all her fingers chewed off by the chimp.

WyrdeOne

posted on Mar, 9 2005 @ 04:33 PM

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I came across a new tidbit of information regarding this incident. In a recent news story, the wife of the man was interviewed and she apparently said he 'tried to reason with the chimps during the attack.'

Maybe it's just me, but if a chimp was eating my testicles, I wouldn't be using reason. I'd be using bricks, feet, teeth, a spork, anything! How do you REASON with a chimp while it emasculates you?

Some people take the whole 'I love animals' thing a little too far, don't ya' think?