The mystery is why this animal left and where he went. Why the Stamford Chimp Attacked - TIME "It looked like a grizzly-bear attack.". The phone call came around 11:00 a.m. last June 27. One day, when he was about nine, there wasn't enough peanut butter for a second sandwich. The Davises are like any other family, only instead of a son, they raised a chimpanzee. His eyes were vacant. The two were so close, there was no room for anyone else except LaDonna. "in a desperate bid to stop him. The permits allow them to house up to 9 primates at a time. The chimpanzee lived with them in their home, wore clothes, was toilet trained, and took showers. Already an honorary citizen of West Covina he'd earned that distinction at the time of the trial Moe attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies and fundraisers, once manning a kissing booth at an Actors and Others for Animals event in Burbank with Doris Day and Lucille Ball. By 1966, everything was in place for their wedding at a small brick church in West Covina, but St. James never showed up. A woman was critically injured in Stamford, Connecticut when she was attacked by a chimp owned by her friend. Legal Statement. Get out of here!". That's what they usually do," Camp says. 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. LaDonna was perplexed. She worried about whether her daughter is going to choose the appropriate prom dress and worried that she wont be there for that. Chimpanzees are social creatures. Bloodhounds were brought in. Her head injuries "involved her entire face and scalp," Ackley said. when animals attack Picture | PHOTOS: When Animals Attack - ABC News He knew that shaking one's head up and down meant okay and side to side meant disapproval. 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. There was some disfigurement. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. On August 16, 1998, Moe escaped. He had learned what foods they eat and what their habits were. St. James and LaDonna Davis were in court, found in violation of a city ordinance against harboring a wild animal a young chimpanzee they'd kept in their home nearly from birth. St. James and LaDonna refuse to speculate about what led to Moe's disappearance. [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. The couple sped to the ranch. Guided by her husband, she has taken apart the Franklin over the past three months. [15], Moe disappeared in the summer of 2008. Later, over some In-N-Out burgers that we eat sitting around the Franklin, the couple begins to tell the story of their lives. The Davises claimed that Moe had been frightened by an electric shock that occurred while his cage was being repaired. PHOTOS: When Animals Attack + when animals attack Charla Nash, right, was attacked by her friend's 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis, shown left. Kneeling down, he shot him once in the head from close range. Helicopters flew overhead. It would also test the limits of that love. For weeks, Jungle Exotics workers and volunteer searchers combed the dense brush around the facility on foot and in 4x4 vehicles. Animal Haven was a 22-acre (8.9ha) nonprofit sanctuary that housed six primates. Construction workers reported they had seen Moe at a home near Jungle Exotics; other witnesses spotted him heading toward a mountain. Everybody kind of understood everybody. And that story of resilience seems to be whatOprah's viewers are taking away from the interview. chimp named Travis, whose owner, Sandra Herold, 70, raised him as part of her own family, had no history of violence aside from one incident in 2003, when he escaped and stopped traffic in Stamford for hours. As he matured, Moe began to understand no and yes. The couple say his health quickly deteriorated, and he required their intervention to survive. 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. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. The couple brought Moe a birthday cake and were seated at a picnic table next to Moe's enclosure. [4][7] In 2002, the Davises filed a civil rights lawsuit against West Covina, California; the city ultimately agreed to pay the Davises US$100,000 plus US$225,000 for a home purchase in nearby Baldwin Park, California, where they could live with Moe. He then closed his jaws on St. James's mouth, ripping off his lips and most of his teeth. They ate, slept, and watched TV together. St. James looked at Moe and asked him a question: "What are you going to be when you grow up, Moe?". 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.. 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. The Davises were awarded $100,000 after the city settled their original due-process suit, but St. James says he doesn't have enough money to afford a special boot for his mangled foot. He was tiny, about a foot long, and more playful than the most rambunctious child. 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 . St. James lost weight. He talks over LaDonna frequently. Her hair was yanked out and her eyes were severely damaged. The search was a media sensation locally and drew national and international press attention as well. The family had been through so much over the last six years. Then there was the first trip to the dentist. "He was just such a happy little guy," LaDonna says. It might be hard to imagine that a chimpanzee familiar from zoos, animal shows and slapstick comedies like Cannonball Run could be capable of the kind of savage violence inflicted on Nash. The woman sued, and the Davises settled the lawsuit. In two hours, they'll all be on the floor sleeping, their bodies linked at the arms. ", The trial was a sensation. She visited Moe the day before Mother's Day. She grabs the beige bucket hat hanging around his neck and eases it onto his head. Moe stomped his feet and made gagging noises. It's going to be solved.". Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. He'd put his hands up and turn an imaginary steering wheel. Groves said. STAMFORD, Conn. Her hands looked like they were wrecked by a machine. By the time St. James and LaDonna saw the enclosure, it had been repaired and cleaned. Over the years, the human couple and their chimpanzee lived together in West Covina, CA, a suburb about 20 miles east of Los Angeles. [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. During the attack, LaDonna Davis looked on -- she had been knocked to the ground by one of the chimps who bit her thumb off. Authorities removed the chimp and took him to the Animal Haven Ranch near Bakersfield. It was very difficult to determine where everything was because of the blood.". Where his mouth, lips, and nose had been there was only a bloody hole. "They are wild animals, and all wild animals are potentially dangerous," says Colleen McCann, a primatologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and New York's Bronx Zoo. Her hair was yanked out and her eyes were severely. 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. The couple bought a three-seat bike and rode around town with Moe in the middle. [7], In 1977, when Moe was 10 years old, he bit a woman, injuring her finger. Three years after the attack, St. James is completely dependent on LaDonna. Carruthers followed and killed Ollie by gunshot. [7], West Covina officials seized Moe and relocated him to an animal sanctuary. But what happened later in their lives is difficult for the Davises to discuss. La Donna and St. James . Over the next thirty years, the Davises' devotion to Moe would push the boundaries of human love. They played for a while more before ending up in a heap on the grass again. Eventually, he developed his own form of sign language. Moe's playfulness continued through his teens and twenties. By the time St. James stepped off the plane into the warm air outside Los Angeles International Airport, he was a changed man. Police formed a perimeter around them with their guns drawn in case the chimp came back. An attack similar to the incident is depicted in the 2022 film Nope, [60] in which an animal actor chimp is startled on set and attacks its human co-stars. Dozens of spectators lined up outside the Citrus municipal courthouse to catch a glimpse of the Davises and their monkey. St. James and LaDonna left the airport that day not knowing if they were ever going to speak again. Nov. 9, 2005 -- Moe the chimp was like a son to the Davis family. In time, it became clear that there was no way the couple was going to part with the chimpanzee. Travis' behavior had become increasingly erratic, and the attack left Nash severely disfigured and Travis dead. 2023 Michigan State University College of Law. Horrifying Stories of Pet Chimpanzees Attacking Their Owners - Ranker His right eye is gone, replaced with glass. (See pictures of animals in space.). Instead he went after St. James. St. James and LaDonna Davis say they rescued the chimp from Africa and then raised him in their California home -- sometimes even eating and sleeping with him. He had seen the chimp around town and knew how big he was. Mo Moe (the chimp that is) | Crime Scene St. James and LaDonna visited Moe every week, all the while clinging to the hope that they would someday be reunited. His imposing frame had wasted away. If any of Nash's face was salvaged, "a lot of the tissues can be returned to where they came from," or repaired with traditional skin grafts or flaps. A second chimp was also loose. The two male chimps, Ollie and Buddy, attacked the Davises. Worst Chimpanzee Attack Story Ever - Moe the Chimp Owner Attacked - Esquire Moe bit her. A year later, on September 2, 1999, a visitor came to meet Moe. On February 16, 2009, tragedy struck when Travis the Chimp, a chimpanzee who had gained national celebrity over the years, viciously attacked his owner's close friend, Charla Nash. Maples's voice on the line was shaky. As St. James confronted the chimp, the six-two former running back turned to find a second chimpalso a male, this one older and biggerbearing down on him as well. This site is not a law firm and cannot offer legal advice. 11 The former NASCAR driver St. James Davis, who raised a chimpanzee as a pet, was attacked by escaped chimps at an animal sanctuary in 2005; he was left with injuries and disfigurement so severe that doctors kept him in a medically induced coma for three months. "It was amazing to us she had these type of injuries and they were survivable," Ackley said. And of course, what's also missing is Moe. The chimp, named Moe, rode to the courthouse shotgun in St. James's jet-black 1932 Ford roadster. And it's true that Moe never harmed the couple. St. James and LaDonna expect to see their boy again. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. And how that came to be, and what that ultimately would mean for them, is a singular kind of story. Animal-rights groups got involved. The visits sustained them, though they were also heartbreaking. Groves confirmed she was alive by checking her breathing. Travis the chimp pictured in his enclosure at home Sandy, who had raised the 14-year-old chimp since he was three day old, had already tried to put an end to the attack by stabbing him repeatedly in the back with a butcher's knife. He was affectionate and loved to hug and kiss, throwing his hairy arms around St. James's neck often. Afterward, the Davises argued that Moe mistook her long red-painted fingernails for his favorite candy, licorice. Chimps' attack on man might have been jealousy, expert says
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