Apes attack, mutilate man
Two escaped chimps shot dead during vicious mauling at sanctuary; 2 others caught
By CHRISTINA VANCE and MISTY WILLIAMS, Californian staff writers e-mails:
cvance@bakersfield.com;
mwilliams@bakersfield.com
Posted: Thursday March 3rd, 2005, 11:25 PM
Last Updated: Thursday March 3rd, 2005, 11:32 PM
HAVILAH -- Escaped chimpanzees ripped a man to pieces Thursday morning at an animal sanctuary near Havilah.
The two male apes who mauled West Covina resident St. James Davis were shot to death during the attack, Kern County sheriff's Cmdr. Hal Chealander said.
Davis was listed in critical condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center as of Thursday evening.
The savage attack at Animal Haven Ranch, a kind of retirement home for exotic zoo animals, came as Davis and his wife, LaDonna, were visiting Moe, a chimp they'd kept at their home for more than 30 years before it was removed after biting off a woman's finger.
It was during the morning visit to celebrate Moe's birthday that four chimps owned by the ranch's caretakers, Ralph and Virginia Brauer, escaped, Chealander said.
The apes were in a separate cage from Moe, and it wasn't immediately clear how they escaped. Once everyone at the ranch noticed the four chimps were out, they tried to calm and contain them.
The Brauers' son-in-law, Mark Carruthers, was holding his baby when the animals escaped, Chealander said.
Carruthers placed the child in a bedroom to protect him, but Mrs. Brauer ran in moments later, saying one of the animals was killing Davis, Chealander said.
After grabbing his .45-caliber handgun, Carruthers ran outside to stop the bloody attack.
Buddy, a 16-year-old male chimp, was biting Davis all over his face and body, Chealander said.
"Everybody was trying to get the chimp off," he said. "(Davis') face was literally ripped off."
As LaDonna Davis tried to help her husband Buddy bit her, causing an injury to her arm or hand.
Nearby, Ollie, a 13-year-old male chimp, was lunging back and forth acting like he wanted to attack, Chealander said.
Carruthers reportedly took a shot at Ollie and realized he had to reload with stronger ammunition to stop the powerful creatures.
He ran inside and returned, this time taking careful aim and shooting Buddy down, Chealander said.
As soon as Buddy let go of Davis, Ollie grabbed the helpless man and began dragging him down the road, Chealander said.
Carruthers fired again. Ollie fell.
The gunshots and shouting spooked the other escaped apes, Susie, 59, and Bones, 40, Chealander said. Neither of the females had joined in the attack.
Sheriff's officials got the call for help around 11 a.m., and medical crews rushed to the scene.
Medics bagged Davis' severed nose and eye in hopes of reconstruction. His foot was gnawed off during the attack and he suffered a severe groin injury, Chealander said.
Both Davises were taken by helicopter to Kern Medical Center, Chealander said.
After the attack, the search for the missing apes was on.
"We don't want to hurt them," Chealander said around 1 p.m. Thursday. "(Mrs. Brauer) has a relationship with these animals."
The chimps' caretakers joined state and county officials in the search for the missing animals, twisting up and down the dirt roads cutting through the mountain ridges around the ranch.
Around 2 p.m., they spotted the chimps. Brauer coaxed them in a cheerful tone.
"Come on girl! Come on girl!" Brauer said. "Su-zie!" "Bo-ones!"
No luck that time. The chimps slipped away and the search stretched on.
Neighbors sympathized with the Brauers' predicament. Teresa Randazzo said area children used to visit the ranch and bring bananas for the chimps.
"Nobody ever complains about these people," neighbor Debbie Hay said. "I think they tried to do a good thing."
Around 3:15 p.m., the searchers won a victory. They managed to get close enough to one of the chimps to give her water and tranquilizers. The situation improved from there.
By 4:30 p.m., both chimps were back with the Brauers.
One ape was found along a dirt road off of Caliente Bodfish Road and was gently coaxed into the Brauers' red Toyota pickup cab.
"I see a chimp walking down the road with Virginia," said Terry Mullen, a Fish and Game warden.
The second one soon followed. That chimp had found a family along the same road and was standing with them as they tried to keep her calm, Mullen said.
"These two people were actually petting this chimp," he said.
The elderly chimps were driven home together in the cab with their human caretakers. One watched the world go by the passenger's side window with a steady gaze.
Back at the cages, Bones left the truck first, but she didn't go into the cage.
Instead, Chealander said, she wandered through an open gate that no one closed. They tried using cauliflower to call her back, but it didn't work.
"Get some ice cream!" Mrs. Brauer said, according to Chealander.
That did it. Soon, both chimps were safely in their cages.
Chimps can weigh up to 200 pounds and are five times stronger than humans, said Martine Colette, animal services director at Wildlife WayStation in Southern California.
The animals have complex personalities and might attack for a number of reasons, especially if they're approached by someone they don't know and feel threatened, Colette said.
"For all they know, you may want to harm them," she said. "There's a defense mechanism that just comes right into being immediately."
The animals also have excellent memories and will retaliate against someone they don't like, the director said.
Chimps can live to be 55 or 60 years old and bond closely with those around them, she said.
Typically, when a chimp gets out of its cage, it's because someone didn't close or lock a gate, Colette said.
These apes have the mentality of a 6-year-old child and will quickly figure out if they can escape.
Chimps may also become aggressive if they get out of their normal enclosure and become frightened, said Jennie McNary, a mammal curator at the Los Angeles Zoo.
The chimps aren't violent or dangerous as long as you respect them and their environment, said Brauer friend Pam Stewart, who sometimes trucks oranges and other fruit to the sanctuary.
"They're cute little things, but they grow and they get big," Stewart said.
Virginia Brauer devoted her whole life to taking care of the chimpanzees at Animal Haven, said friend Jeanne Miller.
The couple cared for the animals with their own money and the help of friends, who brought fruit, she said. Mr. Brauer drives trucks, and Mrs. Brauer takes care of the chimps, Miller said.
"She's a wonderful person. She's devoted her whole life to taking care of these chimpanzees," Miller said. "She only leaves that mountain once a year to go to the doctor."
Brauer always took time to educate visitors about the apes and the importance of not trying to keep them as pets, she said.
Animal Haven Ranch is one of about three animal sanctuaries scattered throughout Kern County, said county Planning Director Ted James.
"A lot of times, neighboring property owners are concerned about what if the animals get out," he said.
Neighbor Veronica Evans said the chimps never worried her until Thursday.
"The most concern was always mountain lions, never monkeys," she said.
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