James Davis, a former NASCAR driver, claimed to have rescued Moe during a visit to Tanzania in the 1960s. Perhaps the other chimps were jealous of Moe.” “It sounds like people were showering a lot of attention on Moe, birthday cake and the like. “Chimpanzees have a real sense of right and wrong and fairness and unfairness,” said Fouts, who has worked with chimps for four decades. But ape expert Deborah Fouts, director of the Chimp and Human Communication Institute at Central Washington University, said the attack may have been prompted by an emotion that chimps may share with humans: jealousy. Officials said they have no idea why the chimps attacked the Davises. They could not be reached for comment Friday. The couple have been caring for six chimps and one spider monkey, as well as parrots and other birds. Virginia Brauer, he recalled, “kept saying, ‘I don’t understand. The two voluntarily climbed into the back of the Brauers’ pickup and were taken back to their cage.Ĭhealander said the Brauers were shaken by the attack. The two female chimps, who had fled when they heard the gunshots, were found about five hours later, about a quarter-mile away from the Brauers’ house, Chealander said. James Davis’ injuries as among the worst he had ever seen, but added that he was astonished to find Davis conscious and speaking.

“It looked like a grizzly bear attack,” he said. Merrell, the paramedic, said he could hardly believe the damage when he arrived at the ranch. Davis was really torn up.”Ĭarruthers followed, and shot the second chimp in the head, ending the attack. Davis and dragged him down a walkway by the back of the house. He reloaded with more powerful, fully jacketed ammunition, this time turning on Buddy.Ĭarruthers “kneeled down, got pretty close and shot the first chimp in the head,” Chealander said. The younger primate, Ollie, “was looking very aggressive and running around.”Ĭarruthers shot Ollie, but the shot had no apparent effect. Tom Jenkins, a veterinarian in Lake Isabella who is familiar with the Brauers’ sanctuary.īuddy, the 15-year-old, was the primary attacker, according to Chealander. “These are vicious, vicious animals that can pick you up and throw you across the room,” said Dr. Their upper-body strength is said to be at least five times that of the average human. They are strong and aggressive animals who routinely kill much larger creatures in the wild. Male chimps usually stand about 4 to 5 1/2 feet tall and weigh from 100 to 120 pounds, experts say. 45-caliber revolver and headed toward the cages. “Get your gun!” Brauer yelled to her son-in-law, Mark Carruthers, who was at her home with his wife and infant son, Chealander said. Virginia Brauer gave chase, and soon found the chimps mauling the Davises, Chealander said. The male chimps - Buddy, 15, and Ollie, 13 - escaped. (Both are quite old for chimps, who rarely live past 50 in the wild or 60 in captivity, according to the Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation group.) She reportedly detained the two females, Suzie, 59, and Bones, 49. Hal Chealander, Virginia Brauer was at home Thursday morning when she was startled to discover that four chimps - two young males and two older females - had gotten out of their cage and entered her home. The ranch is owned by Ralph and Virginia Brauer and has been licensed by the state since 1996 to take in primates, usually from zoos that no longer want them.Īccording to Kern County Sheriff’s Cmdr. The chimpanzees were housed in outdoor cages at the Animal Haven Ranch, a private sanctuary tucked into a grassy fold in the hills a few miles south of Lake Isabella. “He stayed out of this one,” said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game.Īmong the questions for which there were no immediate answers: How did the two chimps escape? And why did they attack? The attack ended when the son-in-law of the sanctuary’s owners shot and killed the two rampaging chimps. “James saw that, pushed me behind a table and took the brunt of everything else,” she said. One of the chimps pushed her against her husband, and at some point her left thumb was bitten off, she said. “I turned around and they started charging,” she said. Moe, according to other accounts, was still in his cage. LaDonna, 64, said she was sitting at a table with her husband, getting ready to cut the chimp’s birthday cake, when she saw the two other chimps out of the corner of her eye.

She spoke outside the couple’s home Friday evening, having been released from Kern Medical Center.

Chimpanzee attack videos