Nash's eyes were injured, but Ackley would not say how extensively. Prosecutors did not seek criminal charges against the operator of the reserve because the animals apparently escaped on their own. It was a chimpanzee, a young adult male, somehow out of his cage, and he was glaring at her. Perfect almost. LaDonna spent hours with Moe every day, essentially trying to home-school him. The chimpanzee, which reportedly was on Xanax, ripped off Nash's hands, nose, lips and eyelids in a horrific 12-minute attack. Earlier this week, a 14-year-old, 200-pound (90-kilogram) pet chimpanzee in Stamford, Conn., left a woman in critical condition after attacking hermutilating her face and hands. Nash's transfer to Cleveland likely is because of the clinic's expertise in facial reconstructionnot because doctors are considering a transplant right away, a leading surgeon said. Meanwhile, Ollie dragged St. James's body down a walkway. As the doctor prepared a shot, St. James stroked Moe's tiny arm and concentrated on keeping him distracted. The details force them to pause often. He doesn't say a word as he calms down. The victimsuffered extensive injuries, including severe facial mauling and loss of both hands. The same animal clamped his teeth onto St. James's nose, biting it off, as the other chimp chewed away at St. James's fingers. "in a desperate bid to stop him. Zooming ahead in his motorized wheelchair, he leads me to the driveway, where the wooden frame of a 1923 Franklin is resting on a table. And the smaller one went to his foot area," she told ABC News. When he got too big by age six he weighed about fifty pounds St. James would carry Moe back to his bedroom after he fell asleep. That bond would only deepen with news they received less than a year into their marriage. Moe tried to cover up by overloading St. James's bread with jelly. "One, two three.". LaDonna set the cake down on a picnic table, cut two slices, and handed them to St. James. "She just had disfiguring injuries," he said. Within days, more than eight thousand people had signed, and many put yellow ON BOARD WITH MOE signs in their car windows. It's a loud, whooping wail of a cry. Horrific pictures reveal what can happen when chimps attack - with some being pets which turned on their owners, zoo animals which went rogue, or even random attacks in the wild. [7], On March 3, 2005, the Davises came to Animal Haven Ranch to celebrate Moe's 39th birthday. "Where's your warrant? WEST COVINA - The former owners of "Moe" the chimp are offering a reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of a woman who stole from them Saturday. The two male chimps, Ollie and Buddy, attacked the Davises. His vision in his remaining eye is blurry. Nash did not talk, but was conscious. Legal Statement. During the attack, LaDonna Davis looked on -- she had been knocked to the ground by one of the chimps who bit her thumb off. [12] The Davises were uninsured, but decided not to sue Animal Haven. The chimp held her gaze for a moment, and then charged. [1], Three chimps at a small Nebraska zoo were shot and killed after escaping from their enclosure. There was one bright day about 1973. And they discussed their plans for their aging chimpanzee, chief among them installing solar panels on his facility, which would allow him to watch TV. The owner . He was tiny, about a foot long, and more playful than the most rambunctious child. Moe, four years old, was hungry after a day in the park, and he wolfed down his plate. Three years after the attack, St. James is completely dependent on LaDonna. No matter how many years it has lived peacefully as a pet, a chimpanzee is not a domesticated animal and can snap without warning. The Davises fielded dozens of TV and movie requests for Moe. In a 22-hour procedure, 80 percent of her face was replaced with bone, muscles, nerves, skin and blood vessels from another woman who had just died. The Davises waged a long, unsuccessful legal battle to recover Moe. From the moment St. James returned from a trip to Africa with Moe in 1967, the chimpanzee was the center of the couple's life. St. James and LaDonna were high school sweethearts in West Covina. She was overcome with guilt and began talking about a divorce, but St. James would have none of it. After arriving at Animal Haven about 10:00 a.m., St. James hopped out of the car and headed straight for Moe with a carton of chocolate milk in his hand. The couple sped to the ranch. While resisting recapture, Moe dented a police vehicle and mauled a police officer's hand. ", LaDonna doesn't get flustered. Captivated by the insane and devastating story, Barstool Sports' Eddie and Marty pay a visit to various places in Travis' life - from Festus, Missouri to Stamford, Connecticut. Standing next to him is his wife of nearly forty years, LaDonna. St. James hugged his mother. On March 3, 2005, while at the sanctuary on one of their frequent visits with Moe, St. James and LaDonna Davis were attacked by two young male chimpanzees, Buddy and Ollie, who had escaped their enclosures. St. James jumped ship, and for a period of several weeks and perhaps months, he provided for the animal, foraging for food, nurturing him with fruits, bird eggs, and rainwater as he searched for a way home. (See pictures of animals facing extinction.). She looked up to see her husband --who had intervened to save her -- covered in blood. Even in the wild, they are unlikely to venture off alone, St. James and LaDonna both explain, an assessment shared by primatologists. Moe didn't return immediately. Viewers got their first glimpse of chimp attack victim Charla Nash on Wednesday -- and the pictures are disturbing. The search was a media sensation locally and drew national and international press attention as well. Though he still earned most of his living through the auto-body shop he and LaDonna owned, St. James competed on the Nascar circuit, with Moe often appearing at his side for racing events. In 1998, Moe attacked a West Covina, Calif., police officer and a neighbor. You could make the argument that she should've found a better home for it or even released it at that point, but it was her husband's beloved pet and I'm sure she couldn't do that to him after he passed. Chimps are three times stronger than a man. Charla Nash, seen here in a screen grab from a Nov. 11, 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, lost her sight and has to eat through a straw as a result of a Feb. 16 chimpanzee attack in Stamford . "It's dripping all over the place. "Where's your court order?" They even meet Officer Frank Chiafari, the cop who intervened that day of the attack. It's a call for her from a friend, and within seconds it's clear she's being asked about Moe. See pictures of the 50th running of the Daytona 500. Blood poured from his body, and LaDonna was screaming. After extensive negotiations, in 2004 the couple succeeded in getting Moe transferred to Animal Haven Ranch, a private sanctuary near Bakersfield where they could visit him without restriction. Then there were those big, brown eyes. And how could it be otherwise? The moment was beautiful. The Davises claimed that the woman wore red polish on her fingernails, and Moe may have mistaken them for his favorite licorice. But one day, the 200lb ape snapped, launching a savage, 12-minute attack on his owner's friend. The bill has stalled since it was introduced in 2005, but the Stamford assault may well renew its debate. "We were hoping he'd wander back in. St. James Davis is crying. On the brink of tears herself, LaDonna grabs a cloth and gently cradles his cheek with her right hand. Out of the corner of her eye, LaDonna suddenly noticed a large form about forty feet away. Despite the potential threat chimpanzees pose, many U.S. states, including Connecticut, legally allow people to raise them as pets. chimpanzee is five to seven times stronger than a person of the same size, especially in the upper body. Gaping sores covered his face and neck. It's a story at once understandable and incomprehensible, at once comic and tragic, at once familiar and utterly bizarre. In 2009, a male chimpanzee named Travis mauled his owner's friend, Charla Nash. Moe's playfulness continued through his teens and twenties. LaDonna was in agony for him. St. James's phone rings as LaDonna is rummaging through the garage for a pair of pliers. St. James brought the infant chimp to his mother's home in West Covina. I've never loved anything as much as I loved Moe. On this visit, they brought Moe a hairbrush and an old computer keyboard. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. It was the fourth partial face transplant in the world, though the others were not as extensive. "It would be unusual" to perform one so soon for Nash, he said. The shot had no apparent effect, and Carruthers raced back to his house, a few dozen yards away, to reload with more-powerful ammunition. Moe the chimp, who was raised in suburbia, escapes his sanctuary home. I have to tell you, its one of those stories about the resilience of the human spirit that makes us all take a look a different look at our lives.. Animal behaviorists suggested the chimps' aggression could have been caused by a number of factors, including jealousy over the attention the Davises lavished on Moe, an innate desire to defend their territory, or abuse they may have suffered at the hands of humans in the past. ", Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. ), Nor are wild chimpanzees the docile, childlike creatures portrayed on TV. Moe started doing better after the couple installed a new cage complete with a TV three months after he arrived. Sit! The Davises were broken. In 2009, a male chimpanzee named Travis mauled his owner's friend, Charla Nash. At first, St. James and LaDonna were reluctant to speak about all that's happened to them. You don't have to be gentle.". The chimp, a 200-lb animal kept as a house pet, was named "Travis" and had appeared in television commercials when he was younger. Ackley, a captain with Stamford's emergency medical services, and medic Matt Groves were among the first to tend to Nash. This site is not a law firm and cannot offer legal advice. St. James and LaDonna Davis were visiting their former pet chimp, then 39 year-old Moe, who they had taken from Africa when his mother was killed by a poacher. But what happened later in their lives is difficult for the Davises to discuss. In the melee, one of the chimps dug in his claws and ripped the skin off the right side of St. James's face, causing it to flop over and cover his left eye, temporarily blinding him. They were met by Joe Camp, Maples's partner, who told them Moe had somehow broken off six steel welds from the cage, allowing him to open a sliding door and escape. So it was that an unconventional household began to transform into something truly different, even for southern California. ), The Republican Debt Ceiling Debate Is a Shakedown, Ronald DeSantis Fcked With the Wrong Cartoon Mouse. All the other options should be discussed first" before something as radical and risky as a transplant is considered, said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a reconstructive surgeon at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The USDA issued an official warning against the zoo for failure to securely contain primates. St. James pushed LaDonna under the table to protect her. "The big male took off to my husband's face, his head area, while he's on the ground. NEW YORK (CBS/AP) On Wednesday, Charla Nash revealed her gravely disfigured face on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," appearing on television for the first time since she sustained major injuries in a. [7][3], The chimpanzees destroyed a majority of St. James's fingers, his left foot, most of his buttocks, both testicles, part of his torso, and parts of his face including his nose and his lips. One night in 1984, the eighteen-year-old chimp methodically prepared his bed of multicolored blankets inside his cage in the backyard before bounding into the kitchen to give LaDonna a goodnight kiss. Zoo Evacuation , on-line at http://www.theksbwchannel.com/news/2777768/detail.html, [5] Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary and Rehabilitation, on-line at http://www.junglefriends.org/trouble.shtml. Groves said. Her hair was yanked out and her eyes were severely damaged. Dozens of spectators lined up outside the Citrus municipal courthouse to catch a glimpse of the Davises and their monkey. Four days after Moe's removal, St. James checked his mailbox and found it filled with notes, cards, and a petition, titled "Citizens to Bring Moe Home." His right hand presents more of a problem, though, since on that hand most of his thumb is gone and two fingers are missing entirely. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. STAMFORD, Conn. Her hands looked like they were wrecked by a machine. Moe was a 39 year old chimp that had lived with the Davises but had to be removed from their house six years prior in 1999 after he bit off part of a woman's finger when she reached into his cage. And it's true that Moe never harmed the couple. She did have injuries to her mouth that caused quite a bit of bleeding. The segment has aired in Chicago, but not yet on the East Coast. For weeks, Jungle Exotics workers and volunteer searchers combed the dense brush around the facility on foot and in 4x4 vehicles. He gently placed Moe, still in his T-shirt and plastic diaper pants, on his chest so the sleeping chimp could feel him breathing. Moe bit her. Make the choice you want. The ferocious attack by a chimpanzee of a woman in Stamford, Conn., on Feb. 16 wasn't a question of if but of when. But what's left in his place, as painful as the vestige of a lost limb, is the Davises' singular devotion. Then something strange and horrifying happenedthough not necessarily what you'd think. After opening it, she links her arms under St. James's armpits and grabs him around the back. [7] The Davises fought to regain custody of the chimpanzee, but were unsuccessful. There's a two-inch hole in the heel of his swollen left foot, and he is confined to a wheelchair. Sandra's bone-chilling cries as she desperately begged the operator paint a disturbing picture of the gory scene she was witnessing as Travis snapped and randomly attacked Charla. He'd motion as if he were turning a steering wheel back and forth when he wanted to go for a ride. Now drop your elbow two inches and press the machine against the metal. His hands are flying through the air as he talks about Moe. In time, it became clear that there was no way the couple was going to part with the chimpanzee. [14] He has a glass eye and two slits in the middle of his face where his nose once was. Over the next three decades, the Davises lived what they considered a near-perfect life. Moe was St. James's best man. Where his mouth, lips, and nose had been there was only a bloody hole. The trio gained local fame, and Moe even made some TV appearances. Police followed the trail of blood to back to house to locate the animal who already died fromits wounds. "We already got a kid," he reassured her. St. James tried to put one of his hands down the animal's throat, but the chimp just kept chewing on it and chewing on it, and he couldn't get it out. [3], On September 2, 1999, a visitor came to see Moe. The following week was the worst of St. James's life. He stormed out of the kitchen, found LaDonna in her bedroom, and dragged her into the kitchen. St. James and LaDonna Davis say they rescued the chimp from Africa and then raised him in their . Over the next thirty years, the Davises' devotion to Moe would push the boundaries of human love. "Not a thing. The zoo later settled a lawsuit brought by the seriously injured employee. He was put into an induced coma to help him heal. St. James stares off into space. Neighbors fascinated with the chimp stopped coming by years ago, and St. James's racing days and the camaraderie they brought are long over. St. James looked at Moe and asked him a question: "What are you going to be when you grow up, Moe?". And I'm begging somebody to do something here.". The sanctuary, tucked into rolling hills just a few miles south of Lake Isabella, was a home for exotic animals dumped mostly from zoos and circuses. "He was just such a happy little guy," LaDonna says. Eventually, he developed his own form of sign language. According to biologists, chimpanzees are humankind's closest genetic relatives on earth. Grunting in pain, St. James slides his body so his legs are hanging out the door. When he saw the ad in the paper, he knew he had found his way out: A merchant ship was looking for deckhands for an around-the-world voyage, all expenses paid. LaDonna savored the moment. LaDonna was perplexed. He's sitting in the driveway of his childhood home, a sprawling, L-shaped ranch house in West Covina, California, on a sun-drenched day last September. The horror was captured in a 911 call News By Emma Gritt 12:21, 12 MAY 2021 Updated 12:57, 13 JAN 2022 Video Loading Travis the Chimp: Sandra Herald's 911 call in 2009 They stanched the bleeding with gauze. His shrieking turned into gagging noises as he furiously banged on his cage with his hands and feet. Think about it. And when he wanted St. James to sit down next to him, he'd bound over and softly push on the backs of his knees. She cut a piece of cake for the chimp and then when she went to cut a second piece she noticed a chimp had gotten out of its cage. After struggling to find a clean shot, he opened fire on the younger primate. He's crying because of news he and LaDonna recently received about what really can only be called their boy. There was some disfigurement. Dirt filled St. James's lungs and seeped into his bloody openings. They brought Moe along with them everywhere to shopping malls, restaurants, weekend trips to the beach. The vet injected Moe with a drug that perked him up immediately. They remained in bed together that way for more than six hours until Moe, groggy and glassy-eyed, finally woke up. We'd been sitting outside his mother's old home for a couple of hours, and it had become clear that St. James was far more concerned with getting work done on his car than talking about his life. Authorities removed the chimp and took him to the Animal Haven Ranch near Bakersfield. [3] The couple brought toys, candy hearts, chocolate milk, and a raspberry-filled sheet cake for the birthday party. Everybody kind of understood everybody. Both Davises were hurt in the incidentLaDonna losing a thumb, and St. James losing all fingers from his left hand, an eye, part of his nose, cheek, lips, and part of his buttocks, as well as injuries to his genitals and one foot. Shes a good mother and, like all good mothers, shes worried about her daughter, Oprah said. Influence on legislation [ edit] The medics rolled Nash onto a stretcher and strapped her in. "I really don't want to go back to the scene," Davis said. 11 The woman sued, and the Davises settled the lawsuit. The couple bought a three-seat bike and rode around town with Moe in the middle. Now he's clapping his hands because St. James has just turned on his favorite cowboys-and-Indians show. He was affectionate and loved to hug and kiss, throwing his hairy arms around St. James's neck often. The Davises rushed to the facility with a vet in tow. Travis the chimp was a local celebrity, who ate in restaurants and used the toilet. Nevertheless, he is haunted by the memory of the attack. He returned the next day, found the helpless newborn chimp alive, and began caring for him. The ferocious attack by a chimpanzee of a woman in Stamford, Conn., on Feb. 16 wasn't a question of if but of when. Nov. 9, 2005 — -- Moe the chimp was like a son to the Davis family. The 200-lb. The Davises hired a helicopter to do flyovers in an attempt to flush Moe out of hiding, and authorities searched the San Bernardino National Forest,[6] but the 42-year-old chimpanzee has never been found.[16][2]. LaDonna Davis lost her thumb, and St. James Davis was brutally mauled, resulting in permanent disfigurement and missing extremities. He's a member of the family. By the time the standoff ended, Moe had dented a police car, injured an officer's hand, and scratched an animal-control agent. The couple had talked about having a large family, maybe as many as five children, and LaDonna had gone for a routine OB-GYN visit. On the other end of the line was Tammy Maples, co-owner of Jungle Exotics, a business that houses animals and rents them to the entertainment industry. She visited Moe the day before Mother's Day. He was obsessed with cars and worried that marriage would put a wedge between him and his hot rods. They dated for a few years before St. James reluctantly agreed to get married. June 30, 2008 -- Moe, a 42-year-old chimpanzee who grew up in suburbia until being forced to live in an animal sanctuary, was believed to be at large in a Southern California forest Monday after . She lost her nose, eyes, lips and hands but, until now, all updates on her condition have come through her family and attorneys. His ears, the size of large clamshells, stuck out a couple of inches from his head. "They are not pets. Oh, no, no, no, this isn't something that's going to be unsolved. He still has no teeth and limited control of his mouth. The two were so close, there was no room for anyone else except LaDonna. It goes like this: The ship suffered damage off the coast of Africa, forcing it to come ashore in Tanzania. No one talked, but Ackley couldn't help wondering as he worked if Travis would return. Nash shared a few of the difficulties she's faced during her rehabilitation:she musteat everything through a straw and can't breathe through her nose. All rights reserved. Now a mature ape and packing the upper-body strength of four or five grown men, Moe was too dangerous to remain at the Davises' home, West Covina officials decided. Animal Haven was a 22-acre (8.9ha) nonprofit sanctuary that housed six primates. "This is a difficult time for the patient and she will need to adjust to it first. St. James keeps his head still as she tends to him. St. James handed one to Moe through the bars of his cage, and the animal's eyes went wide as he devoured his piece. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. [5], [1] Residents Shocked by Brutal Chimp Attack , on-line at http://www.wfsb.com/news/18726175/detail.html ; Chimp Attack 911 Call: Hes ripping her apart," on-line at http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/17/chimpanzee.attack/, [2] Chimps Killed After Zoo Escape , on-line at http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=502&sid=605425, [3] Chimps Escape, Attack Visitors , on-line at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,149364,00.html ; Gruesome Chimp Attack Doesnt Surprise Experts , on-line at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7087194/ ; Chimps Attack Humans After Chimpanzees Escape Enclosures at Animal Haven in California , on-line at http://www.arkanimals.com/dlg/chimpanzee_escape_chimps_attack.htm, [4] Chimpanzee Escape Forces L.A. LaDonna was so stunned by what she heard that she asked Maples to repeat it. St. James and LaDonna refuse to speculate about what led to Moe's disappearance. The family had been through so much over the last six years. "It looked like a . Officers cordoned off the streets surrounding the Davises' home. Days later, while following a group of Tanzanians he befriended on a hunt, St. James witnessed a band of poachers slaughter a female chimpanzee just after she gave birth. ", The trial was a sensation. The chimp, a 200-lb animal kept as a house pet, was named "Travis" and had appeared in television commercials when he was younger. St. James was on his knees on the front lawn, bawling, when Moe, unconscious and bleeding from the stomach, was carried out of the house and tossed into a horse trailer. Moe screamed as one dart, then a second, pierced his stomach. St. James and LaDonna both made impassioned pleas to the court. Travis, she said, turned around and looked her in the eye. The first police officers on the scene couldn't tell if the body was male or female, and warned dispatchers that the victim's face was ripped away. Her hands, eyelids, nose and lips were torn from her body. Viewers got their first glimpse of chimp attack victim Charla Nash on Wednesday -- and the pictures are disturbing. Pet chimpanzees are also reservoirs of disease and can pass along infections like yellow fever, monkey pox and the Marburg virus to their human keepers. Do you want a yellow crayon or do you want this green one? His eyes were vacant. The unraveling of the Davises' near-perfect life began on a hot day in August 1998. The search was officially called off last July 31. Get out of here!". On the day of his disappearance, Moe's enclosure was cleaned as part of the daily routine, he says, and his cage was repaired so quickly because he expected the chimp to be found within hours. "An adult male chimpanzee is a formidable animal. Travis didn't come back. On August 16, 1998, Moe escaped. Nash has been hospitalized. Medics rushed Nash to Stamford Hospital, where four teams of surgeons operated for more than seven hours to stabilize the 55-year-old Stamford resident. [4], Buddy and Ollie attacked St. James simultaneously; one chimp initially attacked St. James's face, the other attacked his foot. In Travis's case, his owner was forced to call 911, then attack and repeatedly stab him a cherished pet she had reared for years with a butcher knife in a desperate attempt to save her friend. The mystery is why this animal left and where he went. Her head injuries "involved her entire face and scalp," Ackley said. "He was brought up to use his brain," LaDonna says, "to always make decisions." What exactly, they do not know. Over the years, St. James had gone to the library and studied chimpanzee behavior. Though mostly vegetarian, they will also hunt and kill other animals for food; young male chimpanzees in Africa have been known to fashion crude weapons and use them to hunt bushbabies for meat. "I need to rest, Moe. ", She pauses. In two hours, they'll all be on the floor sleeping, their bodies linked at the arms. Moe would remain the couple's only child. When one of the guests, a friend of LaDonna's mother's, began sharing her glass with him, the chimp clung to her for the rest of the night. Just before the doctor plunged the needle into Moe's forearm, St. James gripped him tightly. One of the animals grabbed him in a bear hug before chomping into the bone above his right eyebrow. On March 3, 2005, while at the sanctuary on one of their frequent visits with Moe, St. James and LaDonna Davis were attacked by two young male chimpanzees, Buddy and Ollie, who had escaped their enclosures. He then closed his jaws on St. James's mouth, ripping off his lips and most of his teeth. "This is a tragedy for the families involved, for the animal and for the community but it's not a unique story," says McCann. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. This week she sat down with Oprah Winfrey to tell her own story, free of any bandages. She was waiting for him to start explaining, and she had no idea what to make of the tiny monkey at his side. Afterward, the Davises argued that Moe mistook her long red-painted fingernails for his favorite candy, licorice. His mouth, which has been completely reconstructed, is stuck in a frown. The victim suffered extensive injuries, including severe facial mauling and loss of both hands. But it was his deep brown eyes and what St. James and LaDonna thought they saw in them wonderment, innocence, comprehension that moved them the most. The woman on the line called to ask St. James a brutal question: Have any arrangements been made for when the chimp dies? His face and body, however, were mutilated beyond recognition. He said the attack went on for 10 or 15 minutes and he could "feel it blow by blow." This is tragic, but it's not surprising." Incidents & Attacks Involving Captive Chimpanzees, http://www.wfsb.com/news/18726175/detail.html, http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/17/chimpanzee.attack/, http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=502&sid=605425, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,149364,00.html, http://www.arkanimals.com/dlg/chimpanzee_escape_chimps_attack.htm, http://www.theksbwchannel.com/news/2777768/detail.html, http://www.junglefriends.org/trouble.shtml. The chimp's fingernails left him riddled with sores. The couple waited for news-and worried. [8] In 2007, the court ruled that West Covina should pay the Davises US$32,000 because the city did not fulfill their obligations under the 2002 settlement, pay the Davises $300 per month towards covering the costs of Moe's housing, and covering travel expenses for their visits to Moe. Camp remains baffled as to how Moe escaped. Teetering under St. James's weight, she somehow guides him into the chair. Prosecutors dropped the case, and Judge Jack Alex's assessment of the chimp, delivered to a packed courtroom, echoed in newspapers all the way to Texas. But even as investigators try to figure out exactly what triggered Travis's attack (he had been suffering from Lyme disease, which in rare cases is linked to psychotic behavior), the reality is that a chimpanzee living among people is simply a ticking time bomb. When the couple visited Moe last March, two chimps in nearby cages attacked St. James Davis and nearly killed him. LaDonna said. Zoo after she got out of her enclosure. St. James and LaDonna hadn't planned to keep Moe forever. ", "We haven't heard anything new," LaDonna, pacing in the driveway, tells her friend on the cell phone. he says as she applies the epoxy. The zoo director described her as the resident escape artist, stating that Gracie has escaped three times since 1998. How could they not someday see their boy again? St. James confronted them. Primatologists like McCann argue that chimpanzees should never be kept privately, and the WCS supports the Captive Primate Safety Act, a bill pending in Congress that would ban the private selling of primates as pets.
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