The Davises had waged an unsuccessful legal fight to bring Moe back to their West Covina home and visited him regularly at the sanctuary where he had been living since October. Martarano said one chimp was two miles from the sanctuary, located 25 miles southeast of Bakersfield. The wayward pair were recovered by Animal Haven owner Virginia Brauer after five hours. Two other chimps, females named Susie and Bones, also escaped from the cage they shared with Ollie and Buddy, prompting sheriff's deputies, animal control workers, and Fish and Game officials to launch a search. Hal Chealander told The Bakersfield Californian. "Everybody was trying to get the chimp off," Kern County Sheriff's Cmdr. Buddy, a 16-year-old male chimp, initiated the attack and after he was shot, Ollie, a 13-year-old male, grabbed the gravely injured man and dragged him down the road, authorities said. He was transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was undergoing surgery late Thursday, Martarano said. One of his feet was mauled off, and he sustained other severe injuries, authorities said. Maureen Martin of Kern Medical Center told KGET-TV of Bakersfield. James Davis had severe facial injuries and would require extensive surgery in an attempt to reattach his nose, Dr. "He saw what was happening and had one kind of weapon with him and then got another he felt would be more substantial and shot them," Martarano said. The son-in-law of the sanctuary's owner killed the attacking animals, Martarano said. LaDonna Davis, 64, suffered a bite wound to the hand while trying to help her 62-year-old husband, Martarano said. Officials have not determined how the chimps got out of their enclosure, he said. The couple had brought Moe a cake and were standing outside his cage when Buddy and Ollie, two of four chimpanzees in the adjoining cage, attacked St. Moe was not involved in Thursday's attack, said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game. James and LaDonna Davis were at the Animal Haven Ranch in Caliente to celebrate the birthday of Moe, a 39-year-old chimpanzee who was taken from their suburban Los Angeles home in 1999 after biting off part of a woman's finger. The man was critically injured with massive wounds to his face, body and limbs, and the attacking animals were shot dead. (AP) - A couple's plans for a birthday party for their former pet chimpanzee turned tragic when two other chimps at an animal sanctuary escaped from their cage and attacked.
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