St James, then 62, tried to defend himself and his wife from the brutal attack, but after having his nose bitten off, fingers chewed off and right eye gouged out, he fell to the floor where he was mauled for at least five more minutes. But what's left in his place, as painful as the vestige of a lost limb, is the Davises' singular devotion. The couple waited for news-and worried. The couple sped to the ranch. That's something plenty of people say about their dog or bird or even a cow in the barn. His vision in his remaining eye is blurry. For the briefest of moments, LaDonna looked toward Moe. "Moe is like a son to us," LaDonna said. In 2014, and just six-year-old, Dunia Sibomana was playing with his cousin and four-year-old brother near a nature reserve in the Congo when a group of chimps launched a terrifying attack. [4] In 2003 the animal sanctuary experienced licensing problems, so Moe was transferred to Animal Haven Ranch, near Bakersfield, California. Hospital spokeswoman Julie Smith said the family requested confidentiality. 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. A month went by and still no trace of Moe was found. The moment was beautiful. Donald Trump Wants to Make 'The Jetsons' a Reality. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. He doesn't say a word as he calms down. Like everyone else, LaDonna soon fell in love with Moe. February27February 27, 2023. chimp attacks man over cake. Where his mouth, lips, and nose had been there was only a bloody hole. CHIMPANZEES may share almost 99 per cent of our DNA - but there is one thing that clearly sets them apart from humans: pure brute strength. The chimpanzee lived with them in their home, wore clothes, was toilet trained, and took showers. In audio of her call to police, obtained by KHQ-TV, Tamara can be heard saying: "She needs an ambulance. A year later, on September 2, 1999, a visitor came to meet Moe. And when doctors temporarily woke St. James up for the first time, in May, his first question was: "How's Moe?". The following week was the worst of St. James's life. The victim suffered extensive injuries, including severe facial mauling and loss of both hands. His cheeks were hollow. The arrangement was a dream compared with the Wildlife WayStation. Eventually, he developed his own form of sign language. Waiting for St. James inside the terminal was his mother, Estelle. Originally published in the April 2009 issue of Esquire. 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. 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. The tale he tells strains credulity in places, but he recounts it passionately, in vivid detail. Though he fought to fend them off, the pair managed to pull him 30 metres before unleashing a savage attack, mauling his body from head to toe. [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 and LaDonna locked eyes but didn't exchange words. The attack took place in her friends home. Animal Haven was a 22-acre (8.9ha) nonprofit sanctuary that housed six primates. It is impossible to know for sure how he ended up with a baby chimpanzee. In time, as Moe grew, so did his notoriety. March 3, 2005, 4:45 PM PST / Source: The Associated Press. They brought Moe along with them everywhere to shopping malls, restaurants, weekend trips to the beach. } St. James and LaDonna were high school sweethearts in West Covina. He's a member of the family. The Davises have indeed filed a personal-injury suit against the shelter in Kern County, California, Superior Court. It looked as if they were eating him alive. [11], St. James spent six months in a hospital recovering from the attack, including a period of time when he was in a coma. Earlier this week, a 14-year-old, 200-pound (90-kilogram) pet chimpanzee in Stamford, Conn., left a woman in critical condition after attacking hermutilating her face and hands. The devoted couple visited their would-be son regularly, and on March 3, 2005, they went to celebrate his 39th birthday. The woman was told not to put her hand in his cage, but she did anyway. [7] The Davises fought to regain custody of the chimpanzee, but were unsuccessful. Trial is pending. Chimpanzees ' lethal attacks on gorillas in the wild have been observed for the first time, a team of researchers has said. Male chimps are intensely territorial. LaDonna is hovering over him with a cloth to wipe away the red slush spilling out of his mouth. [14] He has a glass eye and two slits in the middle of his face where his nose once was. Police cars swarmed the street trailed by ambulances and fire trucks. 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. freakin ridiculous :roll: R. Ranger X Lifer. Blood poured from his body, and LaDonna was screaming. He behaved like a prince. Oh, no, no, no, this isn't something that's going to be unsolved. I want this tool, but maybe you don't want that tool. Although the compound is on such uneven terrain that it prevented his wheelchair from approaching Moe's cage, the trips were still the highlight of St. James's week. In February, 2009, 14-year-old chimpanzee Travis attacked Charla Nash, a friend of the woman who "owned" him. [7], On March 3, 2005, the Davises came to Animal Haven Ranch to celebrate Moe's 39th birthday. Just before the doctor plunged the needle into Moe's forearm, St. James gripped him tightly. After all, what kind of family takes a wild animal and invests it with humanity? Moe had his own bedroom, complete with a bed, a large closet where his clothes were kept the Davises dressed him in plaid button-down shirts, blue jeans, and even dinner jackets and trousers on formal occasions and a bureau with his toys on top, though of course Moe preferred to sleep with St. James and LaDonna. [4], Buddy and Ollie attacked St. James simultaneously; one chimp initially attacked St. James's face, the other attacked his foot. She barely seems to notice. On March 3rd, 2005, which was Moe's 39th birthday, the couple planned a birthday visit complete with cake to celebrate. It's a story at once understandable and incomprehensible, at once comic and tragic, at once familiar and utterly bizarre. He has a misshapen hunk of flesh for a thumb, which appears as if it were lumped onto his wrist with clay. #inline-recirc-item--id-d4674620-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-d4674620-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { During the celebration, two male chimps approached the group. His right hand presents more of a problem, though, since on that hand most of his thumb is gone and two fingers are missing entirely. As the doctor prepared a shot, St. James stroked Moe's tiny arm and concentrated on keeping him distracted. She was waiting for him to start explaining, and she had no idea what to make of the tiny monkey at his side. The shot had no apparent effect, and Carruthers raced back to his house, a few dozen yards away, to reload with more-powerful ammunition. In this episode we explore one such c. The court battles stretched for years. I've never seen anything like this.". His ordeal finally ended when a tall villager, who called the chimp Mogambo, took St. James to German missionaries, who eventually secured him a flight bound for Los Angeles. Hal Chealander said. The problem was highlighted by National Geographic in 2019, including an incident that saw a chimp snatch a two-year-old boy from his mother before breaking his arm, attacking his head, ripping his abdomen open and removing his kidneys. 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 same animal clamped his teeth onto St. James's nose, biting it off, as the other chimp chewed away at St. James's fingers. They were met by Joe Camp, Maples's partner, who told them Moe had somehow broken off six steel welds from the cage, allowing him to open a sliding door and escape. She visited Moe the day before Mother's Day. Grunting in pain, St. James slides his body so his legs are hanging out the door. She refused to see St. James. With her left, she carefully dabs at his mouth. For weeks, Jungle Exotics workers and volunteer searchers combed the dense brush around the facility on foot and in 4x4 vehicles. 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 couple brought Moe a birthday cake and were seated at a picnic table next to Moe's enclosure. So it was that an unconventional household began to transform into something truly different, even for southern California. But as they enjoyed cake under a sunny sky, two young chimps suddenly broke free from their cage and viciously attacked them before being shot dead. As St. James told his friends, Moe was the "bond between us two." By the end of the year, St. James hopes to have a new mouth and a fully formed left hand. But the chimp turned against Charla and ripped her face and hands apart. [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. Arnold Schwarzenegger to ban private ownership of exotic animals in California, citing the increasing popularity of keeping such animals as pets. LaDonna could hear her boy making laughing noises as she headed for her bedroom. January 29, 2016 admin Apes 0. St. James's phone rings as LaDonna is rummaging through the garage for a pair of pliers. In Uganda, habitat loss for chimps sparked brutal conflict between humans and apes in recent years. Second - their neck is located just below these teeth. The sun is setting, but now St. James can't stop talking. We may earn a commission from these links. Bloodhounds were brought in. But Nash's indomitable spirit remains. The lone chimp continued tearing at St. James's limp body with his teeth until Carruthers caught up to him and shot him once in the chest, ending the attack. The skin on his face droops like candle wax because so many bones around his cheeks and eyes were broken. ", "We haven't heard anything new," LaDonna, pacing in the driveway, tells her friend on the cell phone. The Davises fielded dozens of TV and movie requests for Moe. Holding one in each hand, Moe carefully walked back into his cage and sat down. Moe was a 39 year old chimp that had lived with the Davises but had to be removed . For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Charla Nash was savagely mauled by her friend's pet chimpanzee, Charla Nash revealed the horrific extent of her injuries on Oprah, Charla Nash's friend had raised the chimp, Travis, for most of his life, Charla was left with severe facial injuries - but has undergone numerous surgeries, St James Davis, right, was attacked by two young chimps, Dunia Sibomana was playing outside with his cousin and brother when they were attacked, Dunia had the lower part of his face ripped off by the chimps, Andrew Oberle was set upon by two chimps at a South African zoo, Oberele was left in an induced coma after the attack, Tamra Brogoitta's daughter was attacked by a pet chimp she kept on her ranch, Credit: Facebook/Buck Brogoitti Animal Rescue INC, Buck the chimp had lived on a ranch in Oregon for 17 years when he attacked a woman, Woman whose face and hands were ripped off by pet chimp says she's grateful to be alive, Worlds most horrific chimp attacks as raging apes rip off peoples faces, hands and genitals, Inside sinister rise of pink cocaine sweeping UK nightclubs as warring cartels battle to control 'Coca Cola of drugs', We live on Britain's WORST street - it's rife with drug addicts, crime & prostitutes we're terrified for our lives, Man 'naked and covered in blood' arrested before mum found 'murdered' at home as neighbours reveal hearing screams, Leicester 'explosion': Listen to massive 'sonic' boom that shook homes and rattled windows. If they couldn't ever live together again, this seemed like the next best thing. His index and middle fingers are gone; his ring finger and pinkie are immobile. he says as she applies the epoxy. St. James confronted them. With a single, ferocious jerk of his neck, he tore it off. LaDonna joins her boys on the couch. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The family had been through so much over the last six years. 1.25M subscribers. 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. She wanted to see what his thinking was. Two other female chimps in the cage with them also escaped, but were captured five hours later and returned to the enclosure. He was affectionate and loved to hug and kiss, throwing his hairy arms around St. James's neck often. Back in 2012, then aspiring primate researcher Andrew Oberle visited South Africa from the University of Texas to do research for his master's on chimpanzee tool-use behavior. A lawsuit followed, but the case was dismissed. Nash lost her eyes, nose, and hands during a horrific 12-minute mauling by her friend's 200-pound pet chimpanzee, Travis. Guided by her husband, she has taken apart the Franklin over the past three months. There was the time with the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. Chimps are strong for their size. Owner Tamara Brogoitti's daughter was mauled by the 200 pound ape, named Buck, with him biting her legs, arms and torso. Camp remains baffled as to how Moe escaped. He cannot bathe himself, go to the bathroom, or even eat without her help. The son-in-law of the sanctuary owner shot and killed Buddy and Ollie. "We already got a kid," he reassured her. He'd motion as if he were turning a steering wheel back and forth when he wanted to go for a ride. Apr 20, 2021. Moe participated in their wedding;[6] LaDonna Davis said Moe acted as a "a combination of flower-thrower and best man". Mar 4, 2005 #19 Originally posted by: moshquerade. It's a loud, whooping wail. She handed him a flashlight and a cup of hot chocolate. Local police were called, and several officers were required to restrain Moe. "It looked like a grizzly-bear attack.". He talks over LaDonna frequently. "I want to get healthy," she said on the show. 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. In. The Davises had adopted Moe in 1967, not long after his birth in Tanzania. she also worried about Moe. Mayor Hinges on Voter Rolls, Preventing a Repeat of WWII-Era Imprisonment. He stormed out of the kitchen, found LaDonna in her bedroom, and dragged her into the kitchen. Everybody kind of understood everybody. "I can't get out to get my own gun. IE 11 is not supported. Three years after the attack, St. James is completely dependent on LaDonna. One day, when he was about nine, there wasn't enough peanut butter for a second sandwich. Journalists fawned over Moe in person and in print, and the outcome was never in doubt. That chimp rushed her and bit off her thumb. By this point, of course, Moe looked nothing like the baby monkey who held hands with the flower girl at their wedding, a rascal straight out of Curious George. They ravaged his left foot, leaving it shredded. "Not a thing. LaDonna set the cake down on a picnic table, cut two slices, and handed them to St. James. The Davises claimed that the woman wore red polish on her fingernails, and Moe may have mistaken them for his favorite licorice. He stood four feet tall, weighed roughly 130 pounds, and was covered in deep black fur. This is the only incident in 20 years of operation, the statement said. On August 16, 1998, Moe escaped. Where his fingers had been he had only stumps or simply gaps. They are strong and aggressive animals who routinely kill and devour much larger animals in the wild.. Davis and his wife, LaDonna Davis, 64, were visiting the sanctuary to celebrate the birthday of a 39-year-old chimpanzee, Moe, who was taken from their home in 1999 after biting off part of a womans finger. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { "I don't even think about it," she told Winfrey. They were shot to death during Thursdays attack by the son-in-law of the sanctuarys owners, Virginia and Ralph Brauer. Andrew lost part of his scalp, both ears, his nose, most of his fingers and part of his feet. "Where's your warrant? Rewind back to the 1970s, and St James Davis and his wife LaDonna were just like any other married couple - only instead of a baby, they raised a chimp. On February 16, 2009, Travis attacked and mauled his owner's friend in Stamford, Connecticut, blinding her . While resisting recapture, Moe dented a police vehicle and mauled a police officer's hand. In 2009, the then 50-year-old went to visit her pal Sandra Herold in Stamford Connecticut, where she had raised her pet chimpanzee Travis for most of his life. One night in 1984, the eighteen-year-old chimp methodically prepared his bed of multicolored blankets inside his cage in the backyard before bounding into the kitchen to give LaDonna a goodnight kiss. Andrew Oberle spent six hours in surgery after attack by chimpanzees.For more on this story, click here: http://abcnews.go.com/International/andrew-oberle-ch. Attack of the nut sucking, gonad ripping chimps!! [3], In the 1990s, Moe was housed in a 10ft (3.0m) by 12ft (3.7m) enclosure at the Davis home. I can't run like you anymore." The operator of the facility, the Wildlife WayStation, disputes that version of events, and the story should have pointed this out. It's going to be solved.". On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. LaDonna Davis was bitten on the hand. St. James and LaDonna hadn't planned to keep Moe forever. Nash's family also filed notice with Connecticut's Office of Claims Commissioner this month, asking for permission to sue the state for $150 million, saying officials failed to prevent the attack. St. James and LaDonna refuse to speculate about what led to Moe's disappearance. Think.". That chimp rushed her and bit off her thumb. Moe had been removed from their Los Angeles home in 1999 for aggressive behaviour. [7], In 1977, when Moe was 10 years old, he bit a woman, injuring her finger. The couple had brought Moe a cake and were standing outside his cage. According to biologists, chimpanzees are humankind's closest genetic relatives on earth. But what happened later in their lives is difficult for the Davises to discuss. But theyre really aggressors, primate experts say, more than capable of carrying out attacks as violent as one that left a man fighting for his life. In any case, it seems to be what St. James has come to believe. Doctors are now recommending amputation because he has contracted the MRSA superbug. The Davises made the two-and-a-half-hour trip every week, delivering new toys for Moe and food for the other primates as part of the arrangement. 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. 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. The couple, St. James and LaDonna Davis, had been visiting their former pet chimp Moe at the Animal Haven Ranch. They were recovered outside the sanctuary five hours later. On the brink of tears herself, LaDonna grabs a cloth and gently cradles his cheek with her right hand. 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. Mar 4, 2005 . But St. James's crying has nothing to do with his physical condition. She knows he's just frustrated. Standing on a chair at the kitchen table, he'd always make one for himself and then one for St. James. ", LaDonna doesn't get flustered. PICTURES: Chimp Victim Charla Nash (Warning Graphic Images). St. James rushed to his wife. buying a chimp a cake. [12] The Davises were uninsured, but decided not to sue Animal Haven. Several chimpanzees broke from their cages at an animal sanctuary Thursday and attacked two visitors, seriously injuring them . It was as if he had never been there. The chimp, named Moe, rode to the courthouse shotgun in St. James's jet-black 1932 Ford roadster. Dozens of spectators lined up outside the Citrus municipal courthouse to catch a glimpse of the Davises and their monkey. }, First published on November 12, 2009 / 6:09 PM. He was sitting in the corner of his cage, frozen, seemingly stunned. 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. He'd put his hands up and turn an imaginary steering wheel. After Moe inexplicably managed to break through the cage's welds, workers spotted him hopping over a security fence before disappearing into the hills, Camp says. Makes planet of the apes look like an ideal situation . St James returned to California from a trip to South Africa with the chimp, Moe, in 1967 and planned to keep him for a few years, but he ended up becoming an integral part of their family for the best part of three decades. St. James tried to put one of his hands down the animal's throat, but the chimp just kept chewing on it and chewing on it, and he couldn't get it out. He knew that shaking one's head up and down meant okay and side to side meant disapproval. [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. MORE ON CRIMESIDERNovember 12, 2009 - "Oprah Chimp Victim" Charla Nash Wants $50M, Chimp Owner Lawyers Call it Work AccidentNovember 12, 2009 - Oprah: Chimp Victim Charla Nash (Warning Graphic Pictures) Says She Doesn't Remember AttackNovember, 11, 2009 - Charla Nash Pictures After Attack: Eyes, Hands, Mouth Gone, But Will to Live Carries On, Trending News The entire town, it seemed, had turned against him. Owner describes chimp's terrifying rampage Sandra Herold, owner of the chimp that had formerly starred in Old Navy TV ads but brutally attacked her best friend, described having to stab a pet. St. James hugged his mother. Autor de l'entrada Per ; Data de l'entrada calexico west port of entry hours; 12 month libor rate 2021 . Progress is slow but continuing. Jul 21, 2000 8,286 4 81. But the Davises who were not permitted to come close enough to touch him during their fifteen-minute visits could see the pain in Moe's eyes. Owner Tamara Brogoitti's daughter was mauled by the 200 pound ape, named Buck, with him biting her legs, arms and torso. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. [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. No FBI Agent Should Just Trust Trump to Tell Truth, Republican Senators Form Wingnut Xylophone, How to Line Your Pockets While Reshaping the Court, SCOTUS Ponders Whether to Dub Loans Unforgiven, Effort to Recall N.O. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have called on Gov. Dozens of spectators lined up outside the Citrus municipal courthouse to catch a glimpse of the. "Listen closely now: I've told this story to very few people," he says more than once. He was gentle and well-behaved. He had learned what foods they eat and what their habits were. In two hours, they'll all be on the floor sleeping, their bodies linked at the arms. Chimp -- An article in the California section Wednesday about a West Covina couple recently attacked by two chimps incorrectly reported that their own chimp, Moe, was placed in a Kern County. When Carruthers returned, he focused on the older male, the prime aggressor. After all the years St. James and LaDonna shared with Moe and everything they've endured, how could he be gone forever? "in a desperate bid to stop him. Having another pair of hands is priceless to him. Over the next thirty years, the Davises' devotion to Moe would push the boundaries of human love. Days later, while following a group of Tanzanians he befriended on a hunt, St. James witnessed a band of poachers slaughter a female chimpanzee just after she gave birth. The doctor told them that LaDonna had cancer and needed a hysterectomy. The chimp, named Moe, rode to the courthouse shotgun in St. James's jet-black 1932 Ford roadster. LaDonna buries her face in her hands. Over the next three decades, the Davises lived what they considered a near-perfect life. St. James and LaDonna both made impassioned pleas to the court. Moe was finally at a place where he seemed content and where the couple could spend as much time with him as they wanted. The couple decided not to sue the ranch where they were attacked because it had no liability insurance. [3][4] Moe was an orphan: Tanzanian poachers had killed Moe's mother when he was one day old[5] and the couple did not have any children,[4] so they raised Moe as their own. The couple bought a three-seat bike and rode around town with Moe in the middle. November 12, 2009 / 6:09 PM "I can't do anything on my own anymore," St. James says, "except sit around like a potted plant.". "I can do that," she says, "because I love you so much.". Then there were those big, brown eyes. 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. LaDonna answered. "I need to rest, Moe. St. James, meanwhile, gained notoriety of his own. But with Moe gone, St. James is painfully lonely. The chimp, a 200-lb animal kept as a house pet, was named "Travis" and had appeared in television commercials when he was younger. It's a loud, whooping wail of a cry. A frantic search began. St. James, lying facedown, felt the lifeless animal fall on his back. "I had no idea a chimpanzee was capable of doing that to a human," Kern County fire captain Curt Merrell, who was among the first on the scene, told the Los Angeles Times. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. He stared at the page, sometimes rubbing it with his hairless palm, before putting crayon to paper. W. Wag Diamond Member. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Not in a zoo, or at a park, or festival, or some side show attraction, but in her friends private residence. 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. Humans have suffered horrific injuries at the hands of the apes - which are estimated to be around four times more powerful than man. The visits sustained them, though they were also heartbreaking. You don't have to be gentle.". Perfect almost. Moe had been removed from their Los Angeles home in 1999 for aggressive behaviour. Autor de l'entrada Per ; Data de l'entrada calexico west port of entry hours; 12 month libor rate 2021 . "He wouldn't hurt anyone, and so far as we're concerned, he's a member of the family. And, as it often does with St. James, it comes back to cars. Long legal battle ensues-Family visits chimp at the rescue center to celebrate his birthday, bring him birthday cake State wildlife and county health authorities were testing the chimps for rabies and other diseases that could affect the victims health, Chealander said. A half hour later, holding a yellow angle grinder, I'm smoothing out a section of the gray fender as St. James provides an excruciatingly detailed real-time tutorial: "Okay, turn your thumb toward your nose. He then closed his jaws on St. James's mouth, ripping off his lips and most of his teeth. I've never loved anything as much as I loved Moe. [7], West Covina officials seized Moe and relocated him to an animal sanctuary. NASCAR driver St. James Davis and his wife LaDonna Davis had a pet chimpanzee named Moe, whom they treated as if he were a human child. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. His ears, the size of large clamshells, stuck out a couple of inches from his head. And in his arms there was no luggage, only a baby chimpanzee. Travis the chimpanzee LaDonna hops out of the driver's seat and rushes over to the side door. The fruitless search convinced them Moe did not slip off into the woods. But attacks on humans have long hit headlines, leaving victims with lifelong - and life-changing - injuries, with these being some of the most shocking acts of chimp violence.