Sammy - International Primate Protection League

Escaped Chimps Attack Visitors in California
On Thursday 3 March 2005, two male
chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure
at a small wildlife facility and seriously
mauled two visitors.
St. James Davis (62) and his wife
LaDonna Davis (64) were attacked in
the middle of a “birthday party” for Moe,
another chimp at the facility, who had
previously been “owned” by the Davises.
While LaDonna Davis lost a thumb to
the chimp attack, her husband was much
more severely injured. According to news
reports, he lost all his fingers from both
hands, much of his face, and part of his
buttocks. His testicles and one of his feet
were also mauled.
Two adult male chimps, Buddy (16)
and Ollie (13), carried out the assault.
They were both shot dead in the course
of the attack by the son-in-law of the
facility owner.
As of late March, Mr. Davis was still
in critical condition in intensive care and
had not recovered consciousness.
The attack took place at a small facility
called Animal Haven Ranch located in
Havilah, a small community 30 miles east
of Bakersfield, California. In addition to
the two males, two older female chimps
also escaped from the same enclosure, but
they did not take part in the attack. The
females were recovered five hours later,
one of them two miles from the facility,
and returned without incident to Animal
Haven Ranch.
Visitors came to see former pet
The facility had also recently become
the home of a chimpanzee named Moe,
who had been raised as a pet for over 30
years by St. James and LaDonna Davis
at their home in West Covina, California.
According to St. James Davis, he had
rescued Moe from Tanzanian poachers
in 1967 and brought the infant ape to
Southern California that same year. Moe
had been removed from his owners as a
result of two biting incidents. During an
escape in 1998 he bit a policeman on the
hand, causing the man a serious injury,
and in 1999 he bit off part of a visitor’s
finger.
Moe had been confiscated by West
Covina authorities despite protests from
the Davis family and their “high profile”
attorney, Gloria Allred. He was first kept
at the Wildlife Waystation in the Angeles
National Forest, California. Later he
was transferred to Animal Haven Ranch,
which is operated by Virginia and Ralph
Chimp attack makes headlines in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and many newspapers in California
and around the world
——————————————————————— IPPL NEWS
www.ippl.org ————————————————— April 2005
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