Posted on 03/06/2005 1:50:47 AM PST by ambrose
Woman attacked by chimp speaks of the attack
updated 03/05/05
BAKERSFIELD - A West Covina man critically attacked by a chimpanzee on earlier in the week continues to struggle for his life at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
The attacked happened on Thursday morning at the Animal Haven Ranch near Havilah.
On Saturday, his wife LaDonna Davis, who was also attacked, spoke to NBC’s Today Show about the trauma that changed her and her husband's lives forever.
Davis and her husband St. James Davis were having a birthday party for their longtime pet chimpanzee Moe. When they were suddenly attacked by two other Chimpanzee's who had escaped from their cages.
“I don't know what triggered this, I don't know whether it was the birthday cake, I don't know whether we were having our own little party,” Davis told Campbell Brown host of the Today Show. “And it was not what they wanted. I think it was just a fluke accident.”
Davis said she remembers turning to cut another piece of cake for her husband when she was attacked.
“The next thing I can remember is being knocked down and when I reached to help my husband,” she said. “Because I don't think he was really fully aware of what was happening, somebody took my thumb off.”
Davis husband remains in critical condition after losing a foot, his testicles, and part of his face in the attack. LaDonna appeared on the show to talk about her experience along with her attorney Gloria Allred.
“We're not here to place blame, because our hearts go out to LaDonna and St. James, they've spent their whole life just loving their chimp,” Allred said. “He's been like their child, in fact he is in a sense their only child.”
The Kern County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Fish and Game continue to investigate the chimps' escape. The two chimps involved in the attack were both shot during the incident.
Wow, her hubby is in critical condition, missing a nose, foot and testicles... and wifey has already lawyered up.
What the hell? They ripped off his testicles? Why in the world did they do that?
They went ape.
Pathetic
its a game chimps play....its called "Castrate the Idiot"
Sane reason I rip people testicles off.
Because I can.
I posted "Primate Party Gone Horribly Awry" last night along with an article about this couple from CNN in 2000. She was their attorney back then too when their own chimp, Moe, was acting up and attacking people:
Primate Party Gone Horribly Awry
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1356527/posts
I feel sorry that this guy was attacked in such a vicious way, but they didn't seem to concerned back in 2000 when Moe was the one doing the attacking:
Story from CNN--January 8, 2000 about Moe:
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/01/08/jailed.chimp/
Moe the chimp's legal woes divide California town chimp
Moe the chimp is behind bars at a wildlife sanctuary and his family is charged with keeping him illegally
January 8, 2000
Web posted at: 11:53 p.m. EST (0453 GMT)
From staff and wire reports
WEST COVINA, California (CNN) -- In a state that has earned a reputation for high-profile trials, the court case near Los Angeles of Moe the chimp has managed to cause considerable commotion.
The proceeding has polarized supporters and defenders of a West Covina couple battling to retain custody of the chimp, accused of biting the tip of a woman's finger off after mistaking it for candy.
La Donna and St. James Davis, accused of illegally keeping the chimp in their California home, went to court Friday for an arraignment hearing, but did not enter the building.
Instead the couple, who kept Moe in their home for more than 30 years, stayed outside with a group of supporters.
Their attorney Gloria Allred said she did not bring the Davises into court because prosecutors did not have a signed arrest warrant.
Inside, Allred addressed a complaint containing almost 40 misdemeanor charges against her clients -- including numerous counts of maintaining a wild animal without a permit.
The judge in the case dismissed the prosecution's first filing as too vague.
"Now they come back with 39 counts. So this appears to be punitive. This appears to be retaliatory," Allred said.
The judge directed prosecutors to file an affidavit for a warrant for the couple's arrest. The next hearing is set for February 22.
The Davises brought Moe home with them from East Africa more than 30 years ago after his mother was killed by poachers.
For 30 years, officials approved a permit for the couple to keep Moe, who learned to perform tasks like brushing his teeth and using utensils.
But the last permit expired two years ago and the chimp's legal troubles began. The chimp escaped while crewmen worked on his cage, the Davises said. Moe's conduct then landed them in court.
A police officer and animal control officer were maimed and a woman had a third of her finger bitten off, according to prosecutor Michael Capizzi.
"This is a wild animal. It's a dangerous animal, and it's a threat to the safety of the people of West Covina," he said.
As for the woman's' bitten finger, the Davises contend the chimp they consider a son mistook her false red nails for candy.
Moe's legal woes have spurred his neighbors to action. Since Moe was removed from the Davis home in September, they have launched a petition drive.
But Martine Collette, president and founder of the Wildlife Waystation, where Moe now resides, said the animal is wild and should not be returned.
"There isn't an individual who will not tell you, a professional in the field of chimps, that is going to tell you that chimps are safe to be around at that age; they're not. They're very dangerous."
if I was a stuck inside a cage all my life, I'd probably tear off the testicles of someone I perceived to be responsible for my captivity...
Chimps belong in the jungle, not as some idiot's playtoy.
Hey, give Gloria Aldred a little credit, here.
Usually, SHE'S the one ripping the guy's testicles off.
(I got out of bed again to write that joke. I hope you appreciate my sacrifice and diligance.)
Chimpanzees and Baboons are the only other primates other than humans who will kill and eat meat.
They can also go insane when kept in captivity in confined quarters.
I would trust a 250 lb silver back Gorilla before I would trust a 130 lb Chimpanzee.
These two were crazy to think they could keep Chimps as pets.
It's the first thing male chimps often do when they attack another male primate. They are extremely aggressive against male humans. The wife only got bit because she tried to interfere.
Adult male chimps are very dangerous for adult male humans.
These two remind me of the bear 'expert' that got eaten by bears. Bringing a birthday cake to a chimp... really.
In the Planet of the Apes, Chimps are portrayed as gentle pacifists, and the gorillas as brutal warriors... total opposite from reality.
Next year, I think they should just send a card.
It seems that those chimps could have killed him if they wanteed... instead, they seemed to deliberately maim him in everyway possible...
We are so grateful to you and others who have expressed such sympathetic regard to these victims. Your kindness will not go un-noticed.
Maybe they didn't have time to finish the job.
I wish they got your nuts too.
Another reason to be thankful I'm a woman.
Man talk about a bad birthday party. Although many questions come to mind.
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