A 62-year-old man found himself in critical condition following a brutal attack that ensued from his attempt to reconnect with his former pet.
St James Davis had owned a chimpanzee named Moe since the 1960s, cherishing his companionship for 30 years before circumstances forced him to part with the animal.
In 1999, Moe was taken from Davis and his wife after an incident where Moe injured a woman’s hand, leading to a court case and their eventual separation.
Although Moe no longer resided with Davis, he remained in his thoughts. In 2005, Davis decided to visit Moe at the Animal Haven Ranch near Bakersfield, California, to celebrate Moe’s birthday.
During his visit, Davis intended to deliver a birthday cake to Moe. However, things took a tragic turn when two male chimpanzees, Buddy (16 years old) and Ollie (13 years old), housed in a cage adjacent to Moe’s, took notice of Davis.
Steve Martarano, spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Game, shared details of the incident with AFP: “The Davises were visiting Moe to give him a birthday cake, and somehow the two males escaped from the cage next to Moe’s that housed a total of four chimpanzees.”
“Moe was not involved in the attack.”
Once free, the two male chimps launched a ferocious attack on Davis, causing significant injuries to his face, abdomen, and upper body, Martarano said.
In the violent encounter, part of Davis’ face was torn off. Martarano described it as, “It was a very bloody attack indeed.”
Rushed to the hospital, Davis underwent reconstructive surgery to reattach the parts of his face that had been torn off. Additionally, one of his feet and his testicles were severely mauled, and his wife, LaDonna, sustained serious injuries to her hand.
The attack was halted when Buddy and Ollie were shot dead by a relative of the sanctuary’s owner.
Following the attack, experts on chimpanzee behavior speculated that the assault might have been driven by jealousy or a perceived threat.
Martine Collette from the Wildlife Waystation suggested that the attack might have resulted from a human action that, in the mind of a chimpanzee, was perceived as an insult or slight, as reported by ABC News.
She also mentioned the potential role of jealousy, saying, “There are chimps who are shy, some who are very aggressive, some who are good-natured. But it’s circumstances that set chimps off.”
During the attack on Davis by the two male chimps, two female chimps in the same cage also managed to escape but were later recaptured and returned to their enclosure.
The incident left Davis permanently disfigured. The tragedy deepened when Moe escaped from his own cage in 2008 and disappeared. Moe has never been found, and Davis later expressed, “I had never loved anything as much as I loved Moe.”