But it was his deep brown eyes and what St. James and LaDonna thought they saw in them wonderment, innocence, comprehension that moved them the most. The medics rolled Nash onto a stretcher and strapped her in. Gloria Allred, a high-profile civil-rights attorney, took the Davises' case pro bono. "When humans keep wild animals as pets, they pose a danger, and more times than not it will end in tragedy.". Think. After opening it, she links her arms under St. James's armpits and grabs him around the back. Davis recently returned home. I heard Donna saying 'please don't die on me' I just couldn't answer her.". LaDonna Davis lost her thumb, and St. James Davis was brutally mauled, resulting in permanent disfigurement and missing extremities. Just before the doctor plunged the needle into Moe's forearm, St. James gripped him tightly. So St. James and LaDonna kept Moe and raised him in their home. It's going to be solved.". Her hair was yanked out and her eyes were severely damaged. This article describes several incidents in which captive chimpanzees have escaped, attacked or threatened humans, or have been injured or killed as a result of such an incident. 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. He then places his arms on LaDonna's shoulders. She barely seems to notice. Moe seemed to take pains to avoid scratching anyone with his flat, sharp fingernails. Over the years, the human couple and their chimpanzee lived together in West Covina, CA, a suburb about 20 miles east of Los Angeles. Stop! The vet injected Moe with a drug that perked him up immediately. Whenever Moe motioned for a new color sticking out his hand palm up LaDonna offered a few and asked Moe to think about which one he wanted: "Do you want this green one? Something else must have happened. On March 3, 2005, while at the sanctuary on one of their frequent visits with Moe, St. James and LaDonna Davis were attacked by two young male chimpanzees, Buddy and Ollie, who had escaped their enclosures. He appeared in episodes of Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, BJ and the Bear, and Bowling for Dollars and had bit parts in movies, including the 1975 comedy Linda Lovelace for President. Still, a huge smile spreads across her face when St. James taps me on the knee and says: "I used to tell people, 'My son is thirty years old, and he still wants to live at home.' That's the word they use: missing. ", LaDonna doesn't get flustered. So it was that an unconventional household began to transform into something truly different, even for southern California. Prosecutors dropped the case, and Judge Jack Alex's assessment of the chimp, delivered to a packed courtroom, echoed in newspapers all the way to Texas. "This is a tragedy for the families involved, for the animal and for the community but it's not a unique story," says McCann. At times, she shakes her head and keeps her eyes fixed on the ground. His shrieking turned into gagging noises as he furiously banged on his cage with his hands and feet. It would also test the limits of that love. [7], In 2006, the year following the attack, the Davises placed a sign in their front yard that read "Free Moe". The couple brought Moe a birthday cake and were seated at a picnic table next to Moe's enclosure. It's a call for her from a friend, and within seconds it's clear she's being asked about Moe. "It was amazing to us she had these type of injuries and they were survivable," Ackley said. By now, its facts are beyond any proof or evidence besides St. James's earnest telling. The four-year-old chimp, dressed in a tight-fitting black tuxedo, walked down the aisle holding hands with the flower girl as she tossed rose petals on the floor. Helicopters flew overhead. St. James keeps his head still as she tends to him. His ears, the size of large clamshells, stuck out a couple of inches from his head. Police shot and killed the animal. It looked as if they were eating him alive. Nash has been hospitalized. In 1998, Moe attacked a West Covina, Calif., police officer and a neighbor. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. [4] Two female chimpanzees named Susie and Bones also escaped their cages during the attack; they were not involved in the assault on the Davises and were recaptured five hours later. Finally, LaDonna's screams drew the owners' son-in-law, Mark Carruthers, who came running armed with a .45-caliber revolver. Local police were called, and several officers were required to restrain Moe. Then there were those big, brown eyes. Her hair had been ripped out. St. James pushed LaDonna under the table to protect her. After five weeks, he convinced LaDonna that not having children should not drive them apart. There was some disfigurement. Fatally shot by a police officer, he retreated to Herold's home and died. The two young chimpanzees involved in the attack were named Buddy and Ollie. "We had a really good relationship," LaDonna says. Chimp Attack First Responders Describe Horrific Scene Associated Press STAMFORD, Conn. - Her hands looked like they were wrecked by a machine. For the briefest of moments, LaDonna looked toward Moe. By the time the standoff ended, Moe had dented a police car, injured an officer's hand, and scratched an animal-control agent. Moe bit her. A welder who was repairing Moe's cage accidentally left a piece of equipment turned on and gave the chimp an electrical shock, spooking him so intensely that he bolted out of the house. Animal Haven was a 22-acre (8.9ha) nonprofit sanctuary that housed six primates. PHOTOS: When Animals Attack + when animals attack Charla Nash, right, was attacked by her friend's 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis, shown left. His body was covered in brown hair, except for his pink face, ears, hands, and feet. She cut a piece of cake for the chimp and then when she went to cut a second piece she noticed a chimp had gotten out of its cage. Nash shared a few of the difficulties she's faced during her rehabilitation:she musteat everything through a straw and can't breathe through her nose. 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. The search was a media sensation locally and drew national and international press attention as well. "She had some crushing injuries to her hands and some tearing injuries to her hands.". Where his right eye had been there was a pit. The couple had talked about having a large family, maybe as many as five children, and LaDonna had gone for a routine OB-GYN visit. The segment has aired in Chicago, but not yet on the East Coast. Moe was obsessed with peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. Progress is slow but continuing. The subtlety of Moe's expressions and emotions could be uncanny. [4] In 2003 the animal sanctuary experienced licensing problems, so Moe was transferred to Animal Haven Ranch, near Bakersfield, California. The couple waited for news-and worried. He grabbed one of the blankets, draped it over his head, and began flicking the light on and off, on and off. Legal Statement. After several months, there hasn't been a single sighting of the chimpanzee. (See pictures of the 50th running of the Daytona 500.). Travis the chimp was a local celebrity, who ate in restaurants and used the toilet. The chimpanzee, which reportedly was on Xanax, ripped off Nash's hands, nose, lips and eyelids in a horrific 12-minute attack. They were "tearing away at him. LaDonna is hovering over him with a cloth to wipe away the red slush spilling out of his mouth. "I'm hoping that wherever Moe is, he's making good choices for himself.". He has no nose, only a red, raw, exposed septum, surrounded by narrow openings. From the beginning, Moe's demeanor surprised St. James and LaDonna. Standing on a chair at the kitchen table, he'd always make one for himself and then one for St. James. LaDonna was there, too, and she was seething. ", She pauses. [7], On March 3, 2005, the Davises came to Animal Haven Ranch to celebrate Moe's 39th birthday. [1], Three chimps at a small Nebraska zoo were shot and killed after escaping from their enclosure. His vision in his remaining eye is blurry. Later, over some In-N-Out burgers that we eat sitting around the Franklin, the couple begins to tell the story of their lives. Kent County Sheriff Department and wardens from the Department of Fish and Game were dispatched to the sanctuary to handle the escape. And how could it be otherwise? The 200-lb. Nash did not talk, but was conscious. St. James brought the infant chimp to his mother's home in West Covina. But even as investigators try to figure out exactly what triggered Travis's attack (he had been suffering from Lyme disease, which in rare cases is linked to psychotic behavior), the reality is that a chimpanzee living among people is simply a ticking time bomb. Think about it. Gaping sores covered his face and neck. He was tiny, about a foot long, and more playful than the most rambunctious child. LaDonna was screaming commands"No! Watching from a few feet away, LaDonna is laughing. The couple say his health quickly deteriorated, and he required their intervention to survive. As the doctor prepared a shot, St. James stroked Moe's tiny arm and concentrated on keeping him distracted. And they discussed their plans for their aging chimpanzee, chief among them installing solar panels on his facility, which would allow him to watch TV. The victim's injuries were reportedly gruesome; the head paramedic who treated Nash on the scene told the New York Times that he had "never seen anything this dramatic on a living patient." Her hands, eyelids, nose and lips were torn from her body. In 2009, a male chimpanzee named Travis mauled his owner's friend, Charla Nash. She was overcome with guilt and began talking about a divorce, but St. James would have none of it. It's shaped like a six-foot-long tuning fork and is covered in rusty bolts and nails. Ackley, a captain with Stamford's emergency medical services, and medic Matt Groves were among the first to tend to Nash. In 2009, 50-year-old Charla was violently attacked by her friend's pet chimpanzee, Travis - who weighed over 200-pounds. And when doctors temporarily woke St. James up for the first time, in May, his first question was: "How's Moe?". [9][10] Moe did not participate in the attack. Moe was going mad clapping his hands and hooting happily. LaDonna savored the moment. His right hand is much worse. LaDonna buries her face in her hands. The ferocious attack by a chimpanzee of a woman in Stamford, Conn., on Feb. 16 wasn't a question of if but of when. Two of the first medical workers to treat the woman mauled by a chimpanzee in Connecticut this week described her nightmarish injuries Thursday as she was transferred to the Cleveland hospital that performed the nation's first face transplant. St. James stares off into space. Zooming ahead in his motorized wheelchair, he leads me to the driveway, where the wooden frame of a 1923 Franklin is resting on a table. Moe was St. James's best man. "I would like to have him put elsewhere. With a single, ferocious jerk of his neck, he tore it off. And, as it often does with St. James, it comes back to cars. Though he still earned most of his living through the auto-body shop he and LaDonna owned, St. James competed on the Nascar circuit, with Moe often appearing at his side for racing events. Instead he went after St. James. The chimp shook his head and refused to eat it. St. James and Moe were kissing each other. But the chimp - who weighed more than 200 pounds - viciously attacked her. Much of the Davises' lives today revolve around caring for St. James getting him to doctors' appointments, looking into new procedures, and simply negotiating the world given his physical difficulties. The Davises were broken. (See pictures of animals in space.). Bloodhounds were brought in. "What he did was essentially what they do in the jungle.". [7][2] The police officer required medical treatment and subsequent rehabilitation costing US$250,000. She was waiting for him to start explaining, and she had no idea what to make of the tiny monkey at his side. And how that came to be, and what that ultimately would mean for them, is a singular kind of story. In time, it became clear that there was no way the couple was going to part with the chimpanzee. Her hair was yanked out and her eyes were severely. In two hours, they'll all be on the floor sleeping, their bodies linked at the arms. What That Means for You, Aerosmith Kicking Off Farewell Tour in September, NBC & Telemundo Connecticut Job Opportunities. Captivated by the insane and devastating story, Barstool Sports' Eddie and Marty pay a visit to various places in Travis' life - from Festus, Missouri to Stamford, Connecticut. St. James and LaDonna Davis were visiting their former pet chimp, then 39 year-old Moe, who they had taken from Africa when his mother was killed by a poacher. On his instructions, I pick up a hammer and start prying out some of the decaying bolts. ", The trial was a sensation. "It's dripping all over the place. St. James was a tall, handsome mechanic and race-car driver. A padlock was not completely closed after cleaning their enclosure, and the chimps were killed by the zoos director after a tranquilizer gun showed no effect. A year later, on September 2, 1999, a visitor came to meet Moe. 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 . On the brink of tears herself, LaDonna grabs a cloth and gently cradles his cheek with her right hand. They also went to Superior Court in Pomona, California to get the city of West Covina to honor their 2002 settlement which required the city to purchase a home for them in Baldwin Park, California so that they could reunite with their chimpanzee Moe. His face and body, however, were mutilated beyond recognition. According to some, the unnamed woman stuck her fingers in the cage after repeatedly being told not too. His hands are flying through the air as he talks about Moe. St. James and LaDonna refuse to speculate about what led to Moe's disappearance. Moe would remain the couple's only child. St. James's phone rings as LaDonna is rummaging through the garage for a pair of pliers. All rights reserved. They ravaged his left foot, leaving it shredded. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. In Travis's case, his owner was forced to call 911, then attack and repeatedly stab him a cherished pet she had reared for years with a butcher knife in a desperate attempt to save her friend. [4][13] Between 2005 and 2009, St. James Davis underwent over 60 surgeries. A woman was critically injured in Stamford, Connecticut when she was attacked by a chimp owned by her friend. He's just begun talking about something that happened more recently something that happened to Moe. They even meet Officer Frank Chiafari, the cop who intervened that day of the attack. The Davises claim that they warned the woman not to attempt to approach Moe's cage, but she extended her hand into his cage. After a raid by police and animal . The USDA issued an official warning against the zoo for failure to securely contain primates. She was transferred Thursday to the Cleveland Clinic, which two months ago performed the first face transplant in the U.S. Eileen Sheil, spokeswoman for the Cleveland facility, said Nash is being seen by a head and neck surgeon and likely will be treated through a team approach involving many specialists. A lawsuit followed, but the case was dismissed. Oh, no, no, no, this isn't something that's going to be unsolved. It was a chimpanzee, a young adult male, somehow out of his cage, and he was glaring at her. He was put into an induced coma to help him heal. [7][11][5][12] A paramedic who arrived said, It looked like a grizzly bear attack.[3] St. James was transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center after the attack. Instead, he spent the afternoon under the hood of one of his cars while LaDonna was left alone in the church before all their friends and relatives. With her left, she carefully dabs at his mouth. I can't run like you anymore." 11 He returned the next day, found the helpless newborn chimp alive, and began caring for him. 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. Doctors are now recommending amputation because he has contracted the MRSA superbug. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. On his left hand, his index, middle, and ring fingers are stumps. They found Moe splayed on the floor of his tiny cage, covered in his own stool. Nevertheless, he is haunted by the memory of the attack. There was the time with the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. Over the years, St. James had gone to the library and studied chimpanzee behavior. Moe screamed as one dart, then a second, pierced his stomach. They brought Moe along with them everywhere to shopping malls, restaurants, weekend trips to the beach. At first, St. James thought he'd drop Moe off at a zoo, but he says they all turned him away. Moe hadn't eaten since he arrived and wasn't expected to live much longer. He never complains about the attack or how it left him. "Priority one is to stabilize her.". St. James threw his hysterical wife under the picnic table and pushed her further underneath as the chimp tried to pursue her. St. James looked at Moe and asked him a question: "What are you going to be when you grow up, Moe?". She wanted to see his stool, how he had slept the night before. St. James and LaDonna drove through the hills in their mini-van calling out for Moe. By 1966, everything was in place for their wedding at a small brick church in West Covina, but St. James never showed up. Moe was taken from the Davises suburban Los Angeles home in 1999 after he bit off part of a womans finger. Sanctuary owners Ralph and Virginia Brauer have California permits to keep chimpanzees, and have housed confiscated or otherwise displaced animals at Animal Haven since 1985. When Moe was about two, St. James took him to a veterinary specialist to have a crooked front tooth pulled. 2019 TIME USA, LLC. LaDonna hops out of the driver's seat and rushes over to the side door. At the top are three tiny magnets designed to hold in place a crude silicone prosthesis, which is constantly falling off. Reports vary, but in 1998 Moe either bit the finger or bit the fingertip off a woman who was visiting the home. He's a member of the family. Nash, 56, was disfigured in February when Travis, her friend's 200-pound. This site is not a law firm and cannot offer legal advice. She handed him a flashlight and a cup of hot chocolate. Moe got drunk and pissed all over her pale yellow dress, which everyone in the room thought was about the funniest thing they'd ever seen. St. James, meanwhile, gained notoriety of his own. Kneeling down, he shot him once in the head from close range. A single phone call punctured the Davises' brief optimism. He was too weak to acknowledge them. The two were so close, there was no room for anyone else except LaDonna. [7], West Covina officials seized Moe and relocated him to an animal sanctuary. Dozens of spectators lined up outside the Citrus municipal courthouse to catch a glimpse of the Davises and their monkey. He's sitting in the driveway of his childhood home, a sprawling, L-shaped ranch house in West Covina, California, on a sun-drenched day last September. Moe was a 39 year old chimp that had lived with the Davises but had to be removed from their house six years prior in 1999 after he bit off part of a woman's finger when she reached into his cage. All rights reserved, Watertown Police Shut Down Street as They Investigate Death of Man, Southington Drive-In Announces Summer Movie Schedule, The Federal Reserve Is Expected to Hike Rates One More Time. 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 escaping his cage. Sit! In this Oct. 20, 2003 photo, Travis, then a 10-year-old chimpanzee, sits in the corner of his playroom at the home of Sandy and Jerome Herold in Stamford, Conn. Scenes from their life together are like scenes from the life of any young family with a small child. Feb 16, 2009. They remained in bed together that way for more than six hours until Moe, groggy and glassy-eyed, finally woke up. See pictures of the 50th running of the Daytona 500. But she isn't in pain and often goes for walks, Nash told Oprah. Animal-rights groups got involved. St. James and LaDonna expect to see their boy again. The chimp, named Moe, rode to the courthouse shotgun in St. James's jet-black 1932 Ford roadster. 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.. St. James was sitting in the waiting room with LaDonna's mother when a doctor approached with a solemn expression. A 2009 photo of Nash's face after the attack Credit: AP:Associated Press February 20, 2009 Nash arrived at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, the hospital that performed the world's first successful . The following week was the worst of St. James's life. Standing next to him is his wife of nearly forty years, LaDonna. Now drop your elbow two inches and press the machine against the metal. Chimpanzees are social creatures. A few minutes later, St. James is sucking on a cherry ice pop as he describes how the attack has changed his life. Within days, more than eight thousand people had signed, and many put yellow ON BOARD WITH MOE signs in their car windows. In truth, there never really was a plan. Waiting for St. James inside the terminal was his mother, Estelle. She lost her nose, eyes, lips and hands but, until now, all updates on her condition have come through her family and attorneys. Pet chimpanzees are also reservoirs of disease and can pass along infections like yellow fever, monkey pox and the Marburg virus to their human keepers. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No one talked, but Ackley couldn't help wondering as he worked if Travis would return. He'd cross his arms over his chest and tap his shoulders to signal he wanted a hug. One employee was severely injured. It's not until later in the day that St. James starts crying. At first, St. James and LaDonna were reluctant to speak about all that's happened to them. But when Charla Nash, 55, a friend of Herold's, visited on Monday afternoon, Travis suddenly lashed out at her. St. James underwent dozens of surgeries. Moe bit the tip of her finger. After arriving at Loma Linda University Medical Center, St. James was immediately put into a medically induced coma. "You ready?" LaDonna spent hours with Moe every day, essentially trying to home-school him. Both chimps pounced. Viewers got their first glimpse of chimp attack victim Charla Nash on Wednesday -- and the pictures are disturbing. He stood four feet tall, weighed roughly 130 pounds, and was covered in deep black fur. The Davises claimed that the woman wore red polish on her fingernails, and Moe may have mistaken them for his favorite licorice. Then there was the first trip to the dentist. Moe stomped his feet and made gagging noises. And in his arms there was no luggage, only a baby chimpanzee. The chimpanzees were euthanized after being shot by zoo employees. Twitter user JustALetta wrote, "It is absolutely astonishing how strong the human spirit can be. Afterward, the Davises argued that Moe mistook her long red-painted fingernails for his favorite candy, licorice. It is impossible to know for sure how he ended up with a baby chimpanzee. The chimp, a 200-lb animal kept as a house pet, was named "Travis" and had appeared in television commercials when he was younger. LaDonna kept repeating the same five words as St. James was loaded into an ambulance: "Don't you die on me." He still has no teeth and limited control of his mouth. The zoo director described her as the resident escape artist, stating that Gracie has escaped three times since 1998. To the city, why Moe bit the woman didn't matter. In a span of five months, more than twenty-four thousand people signed it. "He was just such a happy little guy," LaDonna says. 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. "It looked like a . To consider it, doctors must make sure she is medically stable, that alternatives have been carefully considered, and that she truly had given informed consent, because a transplant requires taking anti-rejection drugs lifelong, Lee said. All rights reserved. St. James and LaDonna left the airport that day not knowing if they were ever going to speak again. The chimp held her gaze for a moment, and then charged. Carruthers followed and killed Ollie by gunshot. Where his fingers had been he had only stumps or simply gaps. He's severely disfigured -- his nose chewed off and his genitals and limbs severely mauled -- but his love for Moe, who served as the ring bearer in his and LaDonna's wedding, remains strong. Why he attacked remains a mystery. The chimp, a 200-lb animal kept as a house pet, was named "Travis" and had appeared in television commercials when he was younger. LaDonna's mother, who happened to be Estelle's close friend, began coming over. He had learned what foods they eat and what their habits were. After struggling to find a clean shot, he opened fire on the younger primate. The horror was captured in a 911 call News By Emma Gritt 12:21, 12 MAY 2021 Updated 12:57, 13 JAN 2022 Video Loading Travis the Chimp: Sandra Herald's 911 call in 2009 Are you trying to see out the window?" But what's left in his place, as painful as the vestige of a lost limb, is the Davises' singular devotion. There's choices here, Moe. And the chimpanzee, who developed a fondness for cheese burritos and coffee, took his meals with the couple at the kitchen table. "Okay, then, now you're talking," St. James says after I offer to help him with his car. St. James was on his knees on the front lawn, bawling, when Moe, unconscious and bleeding from the stomach, was carried out of the house and tossed into a horse trailer. Construction workers reported they had seen Moe at a home near Jungle Exotics; other witnesses spotted him heading toward a mountain. St. James, lying facedown, felt the lifeless animal fall on his back. The couple sped to the ranch. LaDonna answered. He was sitting in the corner of his cage, frozen, seemingly stunned. LaDonna joins her boys on the couch. LaDonna could hear her boy making laughing noises as she headed for her bedroom. The moment was beautiful. As St. James told his friends, Moe was the "bond between us two." They're still sitting near the car. "We were hoping he'd wander back in. And that story of resilience seems to be whatOprah's viewers are taking away from the interview. His imposing frame had wasted away. The woman was told not to put her hand in his cage, but she did anyway. LaDonna is in the kitchen, cleaning up after their dinner of beef stew and vegetables. The petition grew longer. His index and middle fingers are gone; his ring finger and pinkie are immobile. Animal behaviorists suggested the chimps' aggression could have been caused by a number of factors, including jealousy over the attention the Davises lavished on Moe, an innate desire to defend their territory, or abuse they may have suffered at the hands of humans in the past. He doesn't say a word as he calms down. The Davises fielded dozens of TV and movie requests for Moe. The couple bought a three-seat bike and rode around town with Moe in the middle.
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