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Moe the chimp still missing
Inland Daily Bulletin ^ | 6/30/8 | Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell

Posted on 07/01/2008 1:13:17 PM PDT by socal_parrot

Famed chimp 'Moe' escapes into forest

As of Monday, there was still no sign of Moe in the San Bernardino National Forest, but there were plenty of rumors about the missing chimp.

Water was running and peanuts were missing at the Gem Ranch on Cajon Boulevard, and a dead chicken was found in the same area where Moe disappeared.

Someone even called from Rancho Cucamonga saying there had been a possible Moe sighting in the caller's yard.

Amidst the mayhem and the media circus at the scene, animal control officers and those close to Moe continued their search for the celebrity chimp, who escaped Friday from his cage at an animal rental company near Devore.

Michael McCasland, a friend of Moe's West Covina owners, said they hoped to find the chimp soon. Moe has not lived in the wild since he was a baby.

"We are still looking for him and think he is hunkered down close to a water source," he said. "Eventually we hope that he will just come home."

Animal control officers have been on the scene since Saturday.

Brian Cronin, division chief for San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control, emphasized the chimp is not a threat.

"He is probably more scared than anything," he said.

In 2007, Moe was moved into a cage at Jungle Exotics, a facility that rents animals to the entertainment industry.

It is believed the 42-year-old chimp got out of his cage Friday and alarmed some people working on a nearby house before scampering into the wild.

The facility is one of approximately 300 in the state that house restricted species.

Permits to operate are renewed by the California Department of Fish and Game every year.

Steve Martarano , a department spokesman, said the situation is of concern to them because Jungle Exotics did not contact them.

Instead they found out about Moe's escape through the media Saturday. A warden has since visited the location to see why Moe escaped.

In another twist, a spokeswoman for the Animal Legal Defense Fund said an animal trainer named Sid Yost was working on the premises.

Lisa Franzetta said Yost was sued by the defense fund in 2005 for allegedly beating up chimps in his care. A settlement was reached in which chimps were removed from Yost and he was never again to work with primates.

But when Yost was reached for comment, he said he owns the ranch next door and has not had anything to with primates since the settlement.

The story of Moe begins in 1967, when St. James Davis brought the orphaned chimp home from Tanzania.

Davis and his wife, LaDonna, raised the animal in West Covina.

In 1999, Moe was taken from the home for being a violation of West Covina's wild animal ordinance.

Then in 2005, while the Davises were visiting Moe at the Animal Haven Ranch near Bakersfield to celebrate his 39th birthday, two chimps in nearby cages attacked them, nearly killing St. James Davis.

Now once again, the primate raised by people is in the news.

Anyone who sees Moe, described as friendly but aggressive if provoked, should call San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control at (800) 472-5609.


TOPICS: Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: chimp; gone; missing; vanished
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Probably out monkeying around.

Moe, come home.


1 posted on 07/01/2008 1:13:17 PM PDT by socal_parrot
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To: socal_parrot

A job for “Monsterquest.”


2 posted on 07/01/2008 1:15:00 PM PDT by sinanju
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To: socal_parrot

“a dead chicken was found in the same area where Moe disappeared.”
Moe choked the chicken?


3 posted on 07/01/2008 1:15:51 PM PDT by tumblindice (Paging Mr. Teeney!)
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To: sinanju

That chimp is lion meat


4 posted on 07/01/2008 1:15:54 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

To: BurbankKarl
Moe in happier times...


6 posted on 07/01/2008 1:17:11 PM PDT by socal_parrot (You can't alway get what you want)
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To: socal_parrot
Then in 2005, while the Davises were visiting Moe at the Animal Haven Ranch near Bakersfield to celebrate his 39th birthday, two chimps in nearby cages attacked them, nearly killing St. James Davis.

I was wondering why the guy had no nose.

7 posted on 07/01/2008 1:19:25 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: sinanju
What are his chances for VP with Obama? Can I say that?
8 posted on 07/01/2008 1:20:41 PM PDT by Ukiapah Heep (Shoes for Industry!)
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To: socal_parrot

I’m rooting for Moe to live in the wild, find a mate, settle down, buy a house, open a business and live a happy life. Maybe even go into politics.

No Child Left Behind works again!


9 posted on 07/01/2008 1:21:21 PM PDT by RandyRep (Winning is the ONLY responsible option in Iraq.)
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To: Ukiapah Heep

I restrained myself but it was hard.


10 posted on 07/01/2008 1:22:51 PM PDT by AppyPappy (If you aren't part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.)
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To: socal_parrot
Moe, come home.

Apparently, there ain't no Moe.

11 posted on 07/01/2008 1:23:01 PM PDT by OB1kNOb (ISLAM IS THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST, DIRECTED BY SATAN AND HIS FALLEN MINIONS.)
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To: dead

My recollection is they ripped off his face and some other tender parts.


12 posted on 07/01/2008 1:24:02 PM PDT by TC Rider (The United States Constitution - 1791. All Rights Reserved.)
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To: socal_parrot

This would explain the people wandering around in the woods shouting “Hey Moe!”.


13 posted on 07/01/2008 1:24:20 PM PDT by Redcloak ("Yes, I have been drinking. Why do you ask?" #1 on the list of "Things heard from McCain voters")
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Maybe he will make his way to the 9th circuit. He can’t do any worse.


14 posted on 07/01/2008 1:26:07 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Ukiapah Heep

We need a copy of Moe’s Tanzanian birth certificate to prove he’s not a natural-born American and disqualify him.


15 posted on 07/01/2008 1:29:58 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
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To: socal_parrot

A little know factoid: Moe was housed with space-chimp `Ham’ for a while, along with an aged `Cheetah’.
They were always fighting. Cheetah never won, and it wasn’t just his advancing years.
You know why.


16 posted on 07/01/2008 1:37:31 PM PDT by tumblindice (A republic, if you can keep it.)
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To: tumblindice

Uggh.


17 posted on 07/01/2008 1:39:33 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: socal_parrot
I saw him this afternoon at the catwash around the corner.


18 posted on 07/01/2008 2:05:07 PM PDT by Daffynition
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To: dead

I was watching this story on TV and they warned anyone who might see Moe to steer clear. According to the news reporters Moe is supposed to have the strength of “seven grown men”. Not a guy you want to wrestle with.


19 posted on 07/01/2008 2:13:03 PM PDT by RipSawyer (Does anyone still believe this is a free country?)
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To: RandyRep
"Maybe even go into politics."

Aren't there enough dumb apes in Washington already?

20 posted on 07/01/2008 2:49:58 PM PDT by mass55th
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