The Birthday Visit That Turned Into a Nightmare
What should have been a joyful celebration of a beloved chimpanzee's 39th birthday turned into a scene of unimaginable horror when two escaped primates launched a savage attack that left former NASCAR driver St. James Davis permanently disfigured and fighting for his life.
The incident occurred on March 3, 2005, at Animal Haven Ranch in Bakersfield, California, where Davis and his wife LaDonna had travelled to celebrate with Moe, the chimp they had raised from infancy. The couple had brought gifts and treats for the special occasion and were preparing to share birthday cake inside Moe's enclosure when tragedy struck.
A Grisly Assault Unfolds
Without warning, two younger male chimpanzees named Buddy and Ollie appeared after escaping their improperly secured cage. Seconds later, one charged directly at the couple. "As we were falling, the chimp came back around and bit my finger off. There was no time to run," LaDonna Davis later told the Los Angeles Times.
Displaying incredible bravery, St. James pushed his wife to safety under a picnic table and faced the chimps alone. What followed was a 15-minute mauling of such brutality that first responders compared it to a grizzly bear attack. One chimp gouged out Davis's right eye with its finger while the other bit off his nose. The animals then tore the skin from his face, ripped off his lips, knocked out teeth, and gnawed a gaping hole in his left foot.
The attack reached new levels of horror when the chimps bit Davis's buttocks and severed his genitals. Sanctuary owner Virginia Brauer attempted to stop the assault by spraying the animals with a water hose, but this proved ineffective.
Desperate Measures and Aftermath
Eventually, Brauer's son-in-law Mark Carruthers intervened with a .45-caliber revolver, but even shooting the younger chimp failed to halt the attack. Carruthers returned with more powerful ammunition and shot the older chimp in the head, killing him. The wounded younger chimp had dragged Davis's mutilated body approximately 30 feet toward a car park and was still gnawing at him when Carruthers delivered the fatal shot.
Meanwhile, Moe was found cowering in a corner of his cage, visibly traumatised by witnessing the violent assault on the man who had raised him.
The aftermath for St. James Davis was devastating. He spent six months in hospital, including time in a coma, and underwent more than 60 surgeries over the subsequent four years. His injuries left him almost unrecognisable, with a prosthetic nose that frequently fell off despite magnetic attachments, a glass eye, and a reconstructed mouth that drooped downward. He lost most of his fingers and required a wheelchair due to the damage to his foot.
In a 2009 interview with Esquire, Davis poignantly stated, "I can't do anything on my own any more, except sit around like a potted plant." He faced the possibility of foot amputation and awaited further reconstructive surgery at the time of the interview.
A Bond Decades in the Making
The relationship between Davis and Moe began in 1967 when Davis, having left his then-fiancée LaDonna at the altar, travelled to Tanzania. There he witnessed a mother chimp being killed during a hunt and took responsibility for her orphaned infant, initially named Mogambo.
Davis brought the baby chimp back to California on a 19-hour flight during which Moe sat on his lap throughout. Remarkably, LaDonna welcomed both Davis and Moe back into her life, and when the couple married in 1970, Moe served as best man.
After legal battles in 1971 that saw Moe declared an honorary citizen of West Covina, the chimp became something of a celebrity, often appearing at NASCAR events with Davis. However, in the late 1990s, Moe was involved in two incidents—injuring a police officer and biting a woman—which led to his relocation to animal sanctuaries.
The Davises maintained their connection through weekly visits, and the attack occurred just one year after Moe had been moved to Animal Haven Ranch, where physical contact was once again permitted.
Investigation and Lasting Impact
An investigation determined that the attack occurred because one of the sanctuary's owners failed to properly lock the chimps' cage doors. Despite the negligence, Davis chose not to sue the facility as it lacked liability insurance, and he himself had no health insurance to cover his enormous medical expenses.
Animal behaviour experts suggested the chimps may have been motivated by jealousy of the attention Moe received or were defending their territory. There was also speculation that Buddy and Ollie might have been traumatised by previous abuse from humans.
Tragically, St. James Davis passed away in 2018 at age 75 from cardiac arrest. His story stands as a harrowing reminder of the unpredictable nature of wild animals, even those raised in human care, and the devastating consequences that can result from simple oversights in safety protocols.
