Moe the chimp still missing

Inland Daily Bulletin ^ | 6/30/8 | Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell

[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.

[JRios1968]

[Cpl. Dwayne Hicks]

I think you just did.

[Prole]

Moe reminds me of "Goliath" from the film, "Project X."

In the film, Goliath was the most powerful and potentially dangerous chimp.

He could easily be defused and appeased with a cigarette. I wonder what soothes Moe?

PS... Whoever made the comment about Moe possibly getting eaten by a Mountain Lion is unfortunately probably right.